Table 2. Characteristics of children included in the study sample and children with special health care needs*.
| Study sample | Children with special health care needs | |
|---|---|---|
| (n = 1,921) | (n = 202) | |
| Child | ||
| Gender | ||
| Male | 988 (51.4) | 118 (58.4) |
| Female | 933 (48.6) | 84 (41.6) |
| Missing, n | 0 | 0 |
| Age at preschool health examination (y), mean (SD) | 5.9 (0.4) | 5.9 (0.4) |
| Missing, n | 0 | 0 |
| Immigration status | ||
| Yes | 428 (23.5) | 19 (9.9) |
| No | 1396 (76.5) | 172 (90.1) |
| Missing, n | 97 | 11 |
| Multiple at birth | ||
| Yes | 57 (3.0) | 7 (3.6) |
| No | 1842 (97.0) | 189 (96.4) |
| Missing, n | 22 | 6 |
| Breastfeeding | ||
| Not at all | 304 (16.5) | 42 (22.0) |
| Up to 6 months | 741 (40.2) | 70 (36.6) |
| More than 6 months | 796 (43.2) | 79 (41.4) |
| Missing, n | 80 | 11 |
| Family | ||
| Abitur (A level exams)† Mother | ||
| Yes | 1095 (61.9) | 123 (65.1) |
| No | 673 (38.1) | 66 (34.9) |
| Missing, n | 153 | 13 |
| Abitur (A level exams)† Father | ||
| Yes | 1017 (60.0) | 102 (55.7) |
| No | 677 (40.0) | 81 (44.3) |
| Missing, n | 227 | 19 |
| School location | ||
| District of Mainz-Bingen (rural) | 996 (51.8) | 125 (61.9) |
| City of Mainz | 925 (48.2) | 77 (38.1) |
| Days absent from school due to illness during first grade | ||
| 0–4 days | 733 (53.8) | 75 (48.7) |
| 5–9 days | 403 (29.6) | 44 (28.6) |
| 10–14 days | 143 (10.5) | 22 (14.3) |
| ≥15 days | 84 (6.2) | 13 (8.4) |
| Missing, n | 558 | 48 |
* Unless otherwise stated, values are expressed as n (%). % relate to non-missing values. Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation.
† Including advanced technical college entrance qualification.