ObjectivesThe present study aims to estimate the incidence of preventable infectious diseases or associated symptoms among young children in Bangladesh and also determine the factors affecting these conditions. The study hypothesised that various background characteristics of children as well as their parents influence the incidence of morbidity of children aged below 5 years.SettingThe study used data from the most recent nationally representative cross-sectional Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) conducted in 2011.ParticipantsA total of 7550 children aged below 5 years during the survey from mothers aged between 12 and 49 years are the participants of the study.ResultsIn general, younger children were more likely to suffer from multiple health conditions than their older counterparts. Children belonging to households classified as poor (OR=1.425, 95% CI (1.130 to 1.796)) or middle (OR=1.349, 95% CI (1.113 to 1.636)) faced greater risk of illness than those from well-off households. A combination of source and treatment practices of drinking water showed a significant impact on incidence of childhood morbidity. Children from households using untreated non-piped water were 85.8% (OR=1.860, 95% CI (1.269 to 2.728)) more likely to suffer from comorbidity than those who treat their piped drinking water. However, we observed that water treatment alone has no impact unless the water itself was sourced from a pipe.ConclusionsAccelerated programmes promoting access to safe drinking water along with water treatment practices, and better household environment may prove effective in reducing the incidence of childhood morbidity in Bangladesh.

Objective Diarrheal disease is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children under five years in Bangladesh. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of diarrhea among children under five years and its associated risk factors. Methods Data was sourced from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), a nationally representative study conducted in 2014. We used multilevel logistic regression models to identify factors associated with diarrheal disease. Results Children aged 6–11 months (OR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.50 to 3.42), and 12–23 months (OR: 2.31; 95% CI: 1.62 to 3.31) were more likely to have diarrhoea than older children. Other significant risk factors for diarrheal infection included households without access to drinking water (OR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.88) and mothers lacking mass media access (OR: 1.32; 55% CI: 1.01 to 1.73). Conclusions Childhood diarrhoea in Bangladesh was associated with individual and community-level factors. Government and non-government organizations should focus on diarrhea prevention programs such as safe water supply and sanitation, personal hygiene including hand washing, and improved education and access to mass media for mothers of childbearing age.