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Children are healthier today than they were ten years ago
The health of Hamburg's children at school age has improved over the last decade. This emerges from a recent report of the authority for health and consumer protection (BGV). As a result, obesity and allergies have declined, as well as the participation in preventive examinations and the number of measles vaccines has increased significantly. Despite all this, the chances of good health and prevention appear to be unevenly distributed. For socially disadvantaged children and children with a migrant background would show signs of health restrictions more often.
Review is based on more than 26,000 school entrance examinations
Hamburg's children are much healthier when enrolled than they were ten years ago. This is shown by the report on the "Health of Hamburg children at school age" published by the German Agency for Health and Consumer Protection (BGV). This is based on almost 26,300 school entrance examinations in 2013 and 2014 and describes numerous health aspects in children aged five and a half to six years, such as Body weight, vaccine protection and participation in child care examinations. Thus, the second study of this kind was already presented in Hamburg, 2007 was the first published and was based on the vintages 2004 and 2005.
Children are much healthier today. Picture: Kurhan - fotolia Fewer cases of obesity and chronic diseases
It was found that both the proportion of overweight and chronically ill children has declined. Likewise, attendance at check-ups and the vaccination rate have increased. "The results are on the one hand pleasing and the result of our activities to promote children's health. On the other hand, unfortunately, not all families and children in Hamburg benefit to the same extent from the good developments, "said Health Senator Cornelia Prüfer-Storcks (SPD), according to a statement by the BGM. According to the study, socially disadvantaged children, children of single parents and children with a migrant background are more likely to show signs of poorer health and are more likely to be exposed to health risks.
"Here we have to take the lever and put it even more in the center of our efforts. The results encourage us in our policy to offer prevention chains for children and families in the city districts and to promote health from the start with "Early Help", emphasized Cornelia Prüfer-Storcks. According to the Health Senator, these connections are not only recognizable in Hamburg, but have already been shown in nationwide studies.
Children of single parents are more likely to have a headache
In detail, for example, the report shows that the overall well-being of children in 2013 and 2014 was significantly better than ten years earlier. Accordingly, the numbers for abdominal pain from 4.8% to 3.7%, for headaches from 2.7 to 1.9 percent and for sleep disorders from 2.2 to 1.4 percent. Children of lone parents, however, were more often affected by these complaints, for example, in the case of headaches they came to just under 5 percent.
Also in the screening tests (U1 to U9) more children participated in comparison to 2004 and 2005. The difference is most noticeable in the U7, which was carried out at 93 instead of 88 percent. According to the report, however, the documentation shows that children from socially disadvantaged families and children from a migrant background are less likely to take advantage of the provision.
Vaccination rate in the "forest villages" significantly lower
There were also clear differences in the subject of vaccination. Especially in the vaccination against measles showed that the numbers sometimes vary greatly depending on the district. While in Ottensen, Rotherbaum and in the so-called "forest villages" such. Duvenstedt recently only 82 to 88 percent of five to six-year-old children were vaccinated against measles, reached Rothenburgsort and Billstedt 93 to 95 percent and Wilhelmsburg 95 to 100 percent.
According to Cornelia Prüfer-Storcks, the lower immunization coverage in some districts is a "middle-class phenomenon." "Some parents completely overestimate the risks and side-effects of vaccination and underestimate what it would mean if their child was going through the disease," said the Senator according to the Hamburger Abendblatt. "We must not stop pointing out that vaccination is the best way to protect children from disease."
Overall, the report found that more children were protected against diseases such as diphtheria, hepatitis B, polio, measles, mumps and rubella than ten years ago. Overall, children with a migrant background were better protected than non-immigrant children - but immunization was again lower among those who were not born in Germany.
Every tenth child is still too fat
While ten years earlier about twelve percent of the children were classified as overweight or obese, in 2013/2014 this figure dropped to around ten percent. Particularly affected by overweight and obesity were the report to be enrolled children with a migrant background. In addition, it became apparent that children of parents with low occupational status were much more likely to be fat than adults of socially better-off families (4.6 percent) at about 16 percent..
A decline was also recorded in chronic diseases. Here, every tenth of the children to be enrolled in Hamburg was affected - much less than in 2004/2005. The most common chronic illness at school age is atopic dermatitis, but here too the proportion fell from 9.1 to 6 percent within ten years. (No)