Table 1

Characteristics of the 1068 pre-school children and their parents

Characteristics

Characteristics of the children

N
%

Age (n = 1067)
- 2 or 3 years old
227
21%

- 4 years old
335
31%

- 5 years old
328
31%

- 6 years old
177
17%
Girls (n = 1068)

537
50%
First in birth order (n = 1039)

498
48%
Medical conditions (n = 1068)
- Preterm infant
96
9%

- Hospitalisation after birth
81
8%

- Asthma
156
15%

- Wearing of glasses
146
14%

- Auditory disorders
63
6%

- Allergy
214
20%

- Behavioural disorder
44
4%

- At least one surgical intervention
225
21%

- Other medical conditions
70
7%
Long term medication use (n = 1068)

73
7%
Frequency of administrating over the counter drugs without medical advice (n = 1062)
- Never
168
16%

- Rarely
311
29%

- Often
509
48%

- Almost every time my child is ill
74
7%
Under homeopathic treatment (n = 1043)

549
53%
Advice from a pharmacist within the last 12 months (n = 1051)

445
42%


Mean
SD
N. of primary care consultations within the last 12 months (n = 1029)

5.9
4.6

Parental characteristics

N
%

Single parent family (n = 1066)

136
13%
Rural place of residence (n = 1064)

217
20%
Occupation (n = 1056)
- Disadvantaged (workers, unemployed)
151
14%

- Moderately advantaged (self-employed, employees)
563
53%

- Advantaged (managers and executives)
342
33%
Education level (n = 1037)
- Elementary and secondary
285
27%

- High school diploma ("Baccalauréat")
238
23%

- Lower tertiary
235
23%

- Higher tertiary
279
27%
Annual family income (n = 949)
- < 14 000 €
168
18%

- 14 000 to 19 999 €
203
21%

- 20 000 to 29 999 €
286
30%

- 30 000 to 39 999 €
170
18%

- ≥ 40 000 €
122
13%


Mean
SD
Age of the respondent in year (n = 1058)

34.0
5.0
Parental stress level (n = 1040)

4.9
2.3

Bouche and Migeot BMC Public Health 2008 8:300   doi:10.1186/1471-2458-8-300