@article{7f076bb00cde11dfaefb000ea68e967b,
title = "A description of children and adolescents in Danish chiropractic practice: results from a nationwide survey",
abstract = "OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe Danish chiropractic patients younger than 18 years. METHODS: Questionnaires were mailed to all chiropractic clinics in Denmark during a randomly assigned month between September 2007 and September 2008. All patients younger than 18 years or their parents were asked to complete a questionnaire collecting information on age, presenting complaint, duration and consequences of this complaint, referral mode, and use of pain medication. RESULTS: Babies were the most common pediatric patients with about one third being between 0 and 4 months of age. Infantile colic was the most common presenting complaint in this age group. For the older children, musculoskeletal problems were the most dominant complaint, ranging from 33% among the preschool children to 75% among the teenagers. These complaints were often chronic and about a third of the children older than 2 years had experienced symptoms for more than 1 year before seeing the chiropractor. These health complaints were reported to restrict activity as well as alter mood, and 39% of the 2- to 17-year olds used analgesics. There was limited referral of patients from other health care professionals. CONCLUSIONS: Babies made up most of the Danish chiropractic patients younger than 18 years. Among the older children and the adolescents, musculoskeletal complaints were most common and mostly of a chronic nature. The large number of pediatric patients in chiropractic practices and the paucity of evidence of treatment effectiveness indicate the need for further research in these age groups.",
keywords = "Adolescent, Child, Child Welfare, Child, Preschool, Chronic Disease, Denmark, Female, Health Care Surveys, Health Status, Humans, Infant, Manipulation, Chiropractic, Neuromuscular Diseases, Pediatrics, Severity of Illness Index",
author = "Lise Hestbaek and Anette J{\o}rgensen and Jan Hartvigsen",
year = "2009",
month = oct,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/j.jmpt.2009.08.024",
language = "English",
volume = "32",
pages = "607--15",
journal = "Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics",
issn = "0161-4754",
publisher = "Mosby, Inc.",
number = "8",
}