Abstract
Introduction and objectives: Parents often ask paediatricians for advice about the best way to
care for their children. There are discrepancies in the literature on this subject. The objective of
this study is to evaluate the influence of attending kindergartens at the risk of acute infections
and the use of health care resources in children less than 24 months.
Population and methods: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted on two cohorts of
children aged 0---24 months (born between 1 January and 30 September 2010), who were grouped
according to whether they attended kindergarten or not, and were usually seen in 33 paediatric
clinics of the Principality of Asturias Public Health Service.
Results and conclusions: A total of 975 children were studied, of whom 43.7% attended a kindergarten
at 24 months. Attending kindergarten increases the risk of pneumonia by 131%, recurrent