The Medical journal of Australia
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A standardized medical examination of four to five year old children was introduced into Victorian preschools in 1977. This combined a neurodevelopmental screening with a physical examination. ⋯ The number of children referred for intervention or therapy from the disadvantaged group was 176 (34%) compared with 88 children (17.6%) from the more advantaged group. A standardized examination of the preschool child is desirable, so that consistently comparable results can be obtained and epidemiological trends can be more readily identified.
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Eighty-six children aged three to 14 years were skin-tested for immediate hypersensitivity to antigens which are seasonal (grass pollens) or non-seasonal (car, dog, house-dust mite) in occurrence. Children who reached the age of three months during a time of environmental exposure to grass pollen demonstrated a significantly increased incidence of immediate hypersensitivity reactions to three grass pollens, as compared with children born at other times of the year. ⋯ These findings indicate a relationship between the time of birth and the subsequent development of immediate hypersensitivity in childhood. It is suggested that infants are particularly susceptible to sensitization when presented with antigen around three months of age.