KiGGS – The German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents 

First KiGGS Study (2003-2006)

By the beginning of the new millenium, no representative data on the health and development of children and adolescents in Germany were available. Therefore the German Federal Ministry of Health commissioned the Robert Koch Institute to design and conduct a nation-wide study into the health of the young generation.

The KiGGS study was designed as a comprehensive, nation-wide, representative interview and examination survey for the age group 0-17 years. Between May 2003 and May 2006, a total of 17,641 participants from 167 communities were enrolled. The data obtained from each study subject include objective measures of physical and mental health as well as parent- or self-reported information regarding the subjective health status, health behaviour, health care utilisation, social and migrant status, living conditions, and environmental determinants of health.

Initial results have been presented at a public symposium held on 25th September 2006 in Berlin. Abstracts of the presentations are published in "Bundesgesundheitsblatt" (Vol. 49, No. 10, 2006). Further results in more detail and information about the study design were presented in a special edition of the "Bundesgesundheitsblatt" (principal publication). The abstracts of these articles are available in English.

KiGGS Wave 1: Continuation of the KiGGS Study (2009-2012)

The Robert Koch Institute has continued the KiGGS Study. Telephone-based health interviews were carried out by trained interviewers. The follow-up population (Wave 1 Cohort 2009-2012) comprises parents of children (aged 6-17 years), children and adolescents (11-17 years) and young adults (18-24 years).

In addition, parents of children aged 0-6 years – of a new randomly selected study sample – were interviewed in order to collect also representative health data for children in this age group. The data collection was completed in June 2012.

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