To study the
incidence and types of
morbidity in the first year of
life in a
birth cohort, a
longitudinal study. This study was undertaken in northern part of Karnataka
state in
India.
Birth cohort consisted of all the
children born during first six months of the study period. They were assessed at the
time of enrollment and monthly follow up was done till they attained one yr of age. Out of the 194
newborns, 46.4% were
boys and 53.6% were
girls. 24.8% of
newborns were of
low birth weight and 5.1% were preterm. Four (2.1%) had
congenital anomalies and 2.5% developed
birth asphyxia.
Diarrhea (10.8%) and
skin diseases (8.2%) were the commonest
morbidities in the neonatal period. The
incidence of
morbidity was 3.28 per
infant per yr. It was more among
boys and in the second half of infancy. Commonest
morbidities during infancy were
respiratory tract infection (62.4%),
diarrhea 42.8% and
skin diseases (21.6%).
Incidence of
disease in infancy highlights the need to improve and plan
health programmes.