BACKGROUND Despite many reports of medical illness in children adopted from abroad, there are currently no accepted guidelines for medical evaluation of this population. METHODS Two hundred ninety-three children adopted from 15 countries (mean age, 14.0 months; 55 percent girls) were evaluated by history taking, physical examination, and screening tests for hepatitis B virus (HBV), human immu...

Postinstitutionalized children frequently demonstrate persistent socioemotional difficulties. For example, some postinstitutionalized children display an unusual lack of social reserve with unfamiliar adults. This behavior, which has been referred to as indiscriminate friendliness, disinhibited attachment behavior, and disinhibited social behavior, was examined by comparing children internation...

As show in 7,230 parent-child pairs (6,726 biological and 504 adoptive), adoptive parents and their adopted children tend to resemble each other in height, weight and fatfolds to an extent paralleling height, weight and fatfold resemblances of natural (biological) parents and their children. Accordingly, the magnitudes of parent-child resemblances commonly given may not be indicative of the ext...

OBJECTIVE Since 1989, American parents have adopted 18 846 Chinese children. This study assesses the health and developmental status of these children after their arrival in the United States. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 452 children (443 girls) in 2 groups were evaluated. The clinic group children (n = 192) included all Chinese adoptees seen in an international adoption clinic between 19...

Like most other western countries, there was something of a boom period in adoptions in Australia between the 50s and the mid-70s, with those adopted children of course now being adults. Although changes to legislation in the early 90s have made it easier to access adoption records, those adopted in the closed era still continue to teach us about the lifelong nature of adoption. For the last 10...

Over 200,000 children have been adopted into United States (US) families from abroad since the year 2000. Health care providers who care for children adopted internationally should be aware of the spectrum of illnesses seen in this population, and should be prepared to encounter potentially unusual situations. An appreciation for the unique pre-adoption exposures and vulnerabilities inherent in...