Clinical Epidemiology (Nov 2023)
The Danish National Child Health Register
Abstract
Mikkel Porsborg Andersen,1,2 Rikke Wiingreen,3 Talip E Eroglu,4,5 Helle Collatz Christensen,6 Laura Bech Polcwiartek,7,8 Stig Nikolaj Fasmer Blomberg,6,9 Kristian Kragholm,10,11 Christian Torp-Pedersen,1,12 Kathrine Kold Sørensen1 1Department of Cardiology, Nordsjællands Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark; 2The Prehospital Center, Region Zealand, Denmark; 3Department of Pediatrics, Nordsjællands Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark; 4Department of Cardiology, Herlev-Gentofte Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; 5Department of Experimental and Clinical Cardiology, Heart Centre, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Amsterdam UMC, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; 6Copenhagen Emergency Medical Services, Copenhagen, Denmark; 7Department of Pediatrics, Randers Regional Hospital, Randers, Denmark; 8Department of Pediatrics, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; 9Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; 10Department of Cardiology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; 11Unit of Clinical Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; 12Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkCorrespondence: Mikkel Porsborg Andersen, Department of Cardiology, Nordsjællands Hospital, Dyrehavevej 29, Hillerød, 3400, Denmark, Tel +45 92 43 22 99, Email [email protected] of the Database: The aim of the National Child Health Registry is to provide comprehensive insight into children’s health and growth on a national scale by continuously monitoring the health status of Danish children. Through this effort, the registry assists the health authorities in prioritizing preventive efforts to promote better child health outcomes.Study Population: The registry includes all Danish children, however, incomplete coverage persists.Main Variables: The National Child Health Registry contains information on exposure to secondhand smoking, breastfeeding duration, and anthropometric measurements through childhood. The information in the registry is divided into three datasets: Smoking, Breastfeeding, and Measurements. Beside specific information on the three topics, all datasets include information on CPR-number, date of birth, sex, municipality, and region of residence.Database Status: The National Child Health Registry was established in 2009 and contains health information on children from all Danish municipalities, collected through routinely performed health examinations conducted by general practitioners and health nurses.Conclusion: The National Child Health Register is an asset to epidemiological and health research with nationwide information on children’s health and growth in Denmark. Due to the unique Danish Civil Registration System, it is possible to link data from the National Child Health Register to information from several other national health and social registers which enables longitudinal unambiguous follow-up.Keywords: child health, children‘s database, register-based research, Danish register, epidemiology
