Health practices, behaviours and quality of life of low-income preschoolers: A community-based cross-sectional comparison study in Singapore

Children from low-income (LI) families often suffer from poor health, with sub-optimal health practices. This cross-sectional study examined the differences in health habits and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of LI preschool children compared to non-low-income preschool peers (PPG). Using data from the social-health Circle of Care-Health Development Screening Programme (CoC-HDSP) in Singapore, 118 LI children and 304 PPG children aged 18 months to 6 years old and their families were recruited from 13 government-funded preschools. Health practices examined included screen time habits, sleep, nutrition, dental health and the children's HRQoL using PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales. Majority of the children were aged 4-6 years in kindergarten 1 and 2. There were more Malay children in the LI than the PPG (61.9% versus [vs] 29.3%, P