Children In Iceland Research Articles

Determinants of fruit and vegetable intake among 11-year-old schoolchildren in a country of traditionally low fruit and vegetable consumption

BackgroundFruit and vegetable consumption is traditionally low in Iceland. The results of the Pro Children cross-Europe survey showed that the consumption was lowest among children in Iceland. The aim of this study was to identify determinants of fruit and vegetable intake among 11-year-old schoolchildren in Iceland.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was performed in Iceland in the autumn of 2003 as a part of the Pro Children cross-Europe survey. The survey was designed to provide information on actual consumption levels of vegetables and fruits by 11-year-old school children and to assess potential determinants of consumption patterns. A total of 1235 Icelandic children (89%) from 32 randomly chosen schools participated. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed to determine the explained variance of the children's fruit and vegetable intake. In these analyses socio-demographic background variables were entered as a first block, perceived physical-environmental variables as a second block, perceived socio-environmental variables as a third block and personal variables as a fourth block.Results64% of the children ate fruit less than once a day, and 61% ate vegetables less than once a day. Respectively, 31% and 39% of the variance in children's fruit and vegetable intake was explained by the determinants studied. About 7% and 13% of the variance in fruit and vegetable intake was explained by the perceived physical-environmental determinants, mainly by availability at home. About 18% and 16% of the variance in fruit and vegetable intake was explained by the personal determinants. For both fruit and vegetable intake, the significant personal determinants were preferences, liking, knowledge of recommendations and self-efficacy.ConclusionInterventions to increase fruit and vegetable intake among children should aim at both environmental factors such as greater availability of fruit and vegetables, and personal factors as self-efficacy and knowledge levels concerning nutrition.

Onychomycosis in Icelandic children

Onychomycosis is a rare disorder in children. Few studies exist on the incidence or prevalence of onychomycosis in children. To examine the epidemiology of childhood onychomycosis in Iceland during the period 1982-2000. Results from all mycological samples taken from children in Iceland from 1982 to 2000 were examined. Information about the requesting physician, unique social security number, date of birth, sex, results of culture and microscopy were registered. Growth of a dermatophyte was taken as an indication of a case of onychomycosis. During the period 1982-2000 a total of 493 samples from 408 Icelandic children, aged 0-17 years, were examined. Dermatophytes were cultured from 148 (30.0%) samples. During the period 1982-85, the mean annual incidence of positive cultures was 1.65 per 100,000, increasing to 21.30 per 100,000 for the years 1996-2000. Trichophyton rubrum was the dominating organism and was found in 102/148 cases positive for the growth of a dermatophyte. The incidence of positive dermatophyte cultures increased with age and was found in eight children aged 0-4, and in 57 children aged 10-14 years. Onychomycosis is rare in children, but increases with age. It seems that onychomycosis increased during the study period, but it is not clear if this was due to a true increase in the prevalence of onychomycosis or an increased awareness of onychomycosis, or both.

Comparison of behavioral problems between two samples of 2- to 3-year-old children in Finland and Iceland

The study objective was to compare the behavior problems of 2- to 3-year-old children in Finland and Iceland. A standardized rating scale of preschool psychopathology (CBCL 2-3), developed in the USA, was used to obtain parental information on 493 preschoolers in Finland and Iceland. Behavior scores in the two samples were rather similar. Boys had higher rates of externalizing behavior, aggressivity, and destructivity in both samples. In addition, there were relatively high rates of attention-seeking and poor concentration overall.

Adverse reactions to food and food allergy in young children in Iceland and Sweden

Objective - To investigate the prevalence of adverse reactions to food and food allergy in Icelandic and Swedish 18-month-old children. Design - Prospective multicentre comparative study. Setting - Primary health care centres in Sweden and Iceland. Subjects - A total of 324 children in Iceland and 328 in Sweden who attended for regular 18-month check-up. Main outcome measures - Adverse reaction to food according to questionnaire, and food allergy according to skin prick tests and double blind food challenge tests. Results - Adverse reactions to food were reported in 27% of children in Iceland and 28% in Sweden. Food allergy was confirmed in 2.0% in both countries. Allergy among other family members was reported in 45% of the Icelandic children and 62% in the Swedish (p<0.001). Indoor smoking was reported by 30% of the Icelandic families and 3% of the Swedish. Respiratory infections were reported significantly more often in Icelandic children than Swedish. Conclusion - Adverse reactions to food and food allergy were similar in Icelandic and Swedish children. At the age of 18 months one can expect to confirm food allergy in approximately one out of 15 children with reported adverse reactions to food.

The Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms in Pre-adolescent School Children in Iceland

Abstract The Icelandic translation of the Children Depression Inventory (CDI) was administered to 436 children attending fifth through ninth grade of primary school (228 girls and 208 boys). The cohort was composed of three equally big groups, from the fifth to sixth grade, seventh grade and eight to ninth grade. The CDI total scores were somewhat lower than in most Anglo-Saxon studies. A cut-off score of 15 identified the upper 10% of the children as depressed. An analysis of variance yielded a significant difference due to grade, but no sex difference, and no interaction between grade and sex. The reliability of the inventory was satisfactory. The factor structure found by Kovacs (1992) was not replicated. It is proposed that total scores should be used rather than scores on specific factors for the Icelandic translation.

Visual impairment due to retinopathy of prematurity in Nordic children.

The registers of visually impaired children in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway have been compiled into a common database by a Nordic study group of ophthalmologists, NORDSYN. The database contains information on 2527 children aged 0-17 years. The total number of children with visual impairment due to retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is 247. ROP is the 3rd most common single diagnosis in the database. The age-specific national prevalence of registration (N/100 000) of visual impairment due to ROP varies from 12 in Denmark to 5 in Finland and Norway and 4 in Iceland. The differences can partly be explained by varying efficiency of registration. The age-distribution indicates that visual impairment due to ROP is not decreasing. Of the 247 children 175 had a visual acuity less than 1/60 and 58 had one or more additional impairments. Incidence studies on visual impairment in Nordic children are being prepared.

Barnolyckor i ett kulturellt sammanhang

Kristjánsson, B. (1991). Children's accidents in a cultural context. Icelandic children's everyday life and encounters. A study based on material from two research projects. Nordisk Psykologi, 43, 199–218. According to earlier studies, Icelandic children are more accident-prone than children in most other modern countries. In this paper two related studies, pertaining to the everyday life of pre-school children in Iceland and the Nordic countries, are combined in order to shed light on why this is so. Some general characteristics of children's outdoor habitats are described and assessed in terms of traffic and other hazards. The parents' as well as the children's perceptions of environmental threats are compared. An interpretative scheme is proposed and developed, taking into account socio-historical, institutional and adult-child interactional contexts. Children in central urban areas live in the most dangerous outdoor habitats, often severely limiting their chances to play freely outside. It is contended that Icelandic children, compared with their Scandinavian peers, enjoy little adult supervision in their everyday environments. These implicitly posed demands on children to manage on their own coincide with such divergent factors as: the parents' stress on autonomy and freedom as a socialization goal; their positive view of society; and lacking day-care facilities, providing children with inadequate adult guidance while at home.

Prevalence of IgM Antibodies to Nine Legionella Species in Icelandic Children

In order to evaluate the prevalence of antibodies to Legionella species among children in Iceland, a prospective study was conducted in 424 children aged 1 month to 12 years, 28 of whom had an acute respiratory tract infection. Antibody titers to L. pneumophila serogroup 1-6, L. bozemanii, L. dumoffii, and L. micdadei were measured by microagglutination technique. Seroreactivity to Legionella spp. was found in 30% of the children greater than 3 years of age and in 22% of all children. The majority of the children with legionella antibodies had no history of previous or present respiratory tract infection. The children with previous pneumonia or bronchial asthma did not show a higher seroreactivity to legionella than children without such a history. Our observations suggests that Icelandic children are frequently exposed to Legionella species or closely related bacteria.

Caries prevalence, Streptococcus mutans and sugar intake among 4-year-old urban children in Iceland.

Concern at the high prevalence of dental caries in Iceland prompted this survey of 158 preschool children in Reykjavik. On initial examination in 1987 45.8% of the children were caries-free and the prevalence of caries was a mean dmft 2.4 and a mean dmfs 3.3. A dietary questionnaire aimed at discovering the frequency of sugar consumption per week revealed a threshold value of 30 instances of sugar intake per week above which caries prevalence increased markedly. Some of this sugar is consumed in paediatric medicines, particularly antibiotics and anti-asthmatics, which are widely used in Iceland. Caries prevalence (dmft) for children taking such medicines regularly was 3.0 compared with 2.1 for remaining children (P less than 0.05). Those children who took fluoride tablets regularly had less caries (mean dmft 1.1) than those who used fluoride tablets irregularly or not at all (mean dmft 2.8; P less than 0.001). Samples of saliva from the dorsum of the tongue were taken for determination of numbers of Streptococcus mutans and lactobacilli. High bacterial counts were strongly associated with caries. Only 5% of children with more than 5 x 10(5 S. mutans cfu per ml were caries free but 27% of subjects had 67% of the total amount of caries for the group and all of these would have been detected by the bacterial test.

Childhood blindness in Iceland. A study of legally blind and partially seeing children in Iceland 1978.

In 1978, a study was made of legally blind (corrected visual acuity 6/60 or less) and partially seeing (CVA 6/18 to 6/60) children under 15 years of age in Iceland. A total of 43 children were found, of whom 23 were legally blind and 20 partially seeing. The prevalence rates, expressed as the number per 100,000, children of similar age, 36.4 for legal blindness and 31.6 for partial sight. In all 43 children, the visual loss was attributable to heritable, congenital, or developmental defects. The most common causes of visual loss were optic nerve atrophy and cataracts. Other causes are listed and discussed. No cases of acquired visual loss were found. In addition to visual loss, other congenital birth defects were found in 24 of the children. CNS affection was found in 20 of the children, and of these, 15 were mentally retarded.

Oral health survey of preschool children in Iceland.

Oral health survey of preschool children in Iceland.