Skip Navigation


The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on October 5, 2005
The European Journal of Public Health 2006 16(3):290-293; doi:10.1093/eurpub/cki201
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
16/3/290    most recent
cki201v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Schulpen, T. W.J.
Right arrow Articles by Huber, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Schulpen, T. W.J.
Right arrow Articles by Huber, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Ethnic Disparities in Health

Infant mortality, ethnicity, and genetically determined disorders in The Netherlands

Tom W.J. Schulpen1, Joke C.M. van Wieringen1, Pien J. van Brummen1, Jantien M. van Riel1, Frits A. Beemer2, Paul Westers3 and Jonne Huber4

1 Centre for migration and child health, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands
2 Department of medical genetics, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands
3 Centre for Biostatistics, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
4 Department of pathology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands

Correspondence: Prof. Tom W.J. Schulpen, MD, PhD, MPH, Paediatric Association of The Netherlands, PO Box 20059, 3502 LB Utrecht, The Netherlands, tel: +31 30 2823762, e-mail: Schulpen{at}worldonline.nl

Background: Infant mortality of ethnic minorities in The Netherlands (10% of the population) is twice as high as in the indigenous Dutch population. Causes of death are different for the diverse migrant groups. Methods: Hospital records of nearly 600 infants who died in the four major cities between 1995 and 1998 were analysed according to the cause of death, ethnicity, and possible hereditarity. Results: There was a four to five times higher proportion of hereditary causes of death in the Moroccan and Turkish population, compared with the Surinamese/Antillians and indigenous Dutch. Conclusions: This might be explained by a high inbreeding coefficient as three-quarters of the marriage partners are recruited from the home villages and between a quarter and a third of these marriages are between first cousins. Health promotion activities in The Netherlands have not been successful so far. Preconception genetic counselling might help in reducing these differences.

Keywords: consanguinity, ethnicity, genetics, infant mortality, The Netherlands


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.