Factors influencing the health of Canadian Inuit infants

Inuit infants throughout the Arctic experience higher mortality and poorer health than their non-Inuit counterparts, and suffer disproportionately from bacterial and viral infections. This research initially reviews the health status of these infants, with a focus on Canadian Inuit communities and reference to other circumpolar regions, as appropriate. It also discusses the wide range of inter-related factors that affect their health and their susceptibility to infection: their demographic, social, economic and physical environment, as well as personal health practices and the availability of high quality, culturally-appropriate health services within their communities.Data were then analyzed from a cohort study of 46 healthy Inuit infants that had been previously conducted in Iqaluit, Nunavut from December 1995 to November 1997. Hospitalization and morbidity patterns were examined over their first year of life. Infants experienced an average of four respiratory tract infections (RTIs) annually, which accounted for half of the hospitalizations in the cohort. Some interesting trends were evident from assessment of risk factors for hospitalization and infections using multiple linear regression. Infants of mothers with higher educational attainment spent six fewer days in hospital per year (95% CI: -14.6, 2.9), after adjustment for confounding variables. Adoption appeared to have adverse health effects in addition to those that would be expected due to lack of breastfeeding alone; among infants who were not breast-fed, adopted infants had three more RTIs per year than non-adopted infants (95% CI: 0.5, 5.1). These results provide support for undertaking larger epidemiological studies in order to clarify the role of these risk factors, so that future preventive efforts can be informed and effective