A study of modifiable risk factors for acute lower respiratory tract infections among under five children in a tertiary care hospital in Gulbarga, Karnataka

Abstract

Background: Acute respiratory infection includes any infection of the upper or lower respiratory system, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases. Acute respiratory infection is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in under-five children in developing countries. Objective: This study was undertaken to identify various modifiable risk factors for acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRI) in children aged from2 months to 5 years. Methodology: This hospital-based case–control study was conducted at Basaveshwarand Sangameshwar general hospital, Gulbarga over 1½. year 200 ALRI cases fulfilling WHO criteria for pneumonia, in the age group of 2 months to 5 years were interrogated for potentially modifiable risk factors as per a predesigned preformed. 200 healthy control children in the same age group were also interrogated. Results: The significant socio-demographic risk factors were incomplete immunization for age, low parental education, low socioeconomic status, and overcrowding (p<0.05 in all). Significant nutritional risk factors includemalnutrition, anemia, and rickets (p<0.05 in all). Significant environmental risk factors were parental smoking, use of biomass fuel, and mud/cow dung flooring (p<0.05 in all). Using multiple logistic regression analysis, the factors which were found to be significantly associated were younger age (p=0.000), anemia (p=0.000), incomplete immunization for age (p=0.002), malnutrition (p=0.00), low literacy level of father (p=0.000), and overcrowding (p=0.000). Conclusion: This study has identified various socio-demographic, nutritional, and environmental modifiable risk factors for ALRI which can be tackled by effective education of the community and appropriate initiatives taken by the government.

A cross-sectional study on the prevalence of acute respiratory infection and its association with factors indicating indoor air pollution among under-five children in rural Davangere, Karnataka

“…Study was conducted during Jan to Dec 2016 with estimated sample size of 400. The proportion of boys (52.7%) was greater than porportion of girls in the present study (47.3%), which is in line with similar studies conducted in other parts of India [11][12][13] In contrast to this, proportion of girls was more than boys in a study conducted by prajapati B in rural communities of Ahmedabad district [14] In our study, majority of the study population belonged to Hindu religion (86.2%) and similar observation was found in other studies [12,15] Factors causing indoor air pollution were among the main risk factors for ARI and it was found to be significantly associated in the present study. Similar association was found in WHO report 2008.…”

Prevalence and determinants of Acute Lower Respiratory Infections among children under-five years in sub–Saharan Africa: Evidence from demographic and health surveys

“…These were: child's age, child's sex, child received Bacille, Calmette Guerin (BCG) in the last 6 months, child received Vitamin A in the last 6 months, child received intestinal parasite in the last 6 months, mother's age, mother's employment status, mother's education level, father's educational level, wealth status, residence, household size, source of drinking water, type of toilet facility, and type of cooking fuel. The variables were chosen based on their availability in the DHS dataset and previous studies (Gebertsadik et al, 2015, Jackson et al, 2013; Arun et al, 2014, Mirji et al, 2016; Prajapati, Talsania, Lala & Sonalia, 2012) which have found them as influential determinants of ALRIs among children.…”

“…In relation to ALRIs, some studies have been conducted in sub-Saharan African countries such as Nigeria (Adesanya & Chiao, 2017; Akinyemi & Morakinyo, 2018), Rwanda (Harerimana et al, 2016), Ethiopia (Alemayehu et al, 2014; Gebertsadik et al, 2015), Cameroun (Tazinya et al, 2018) and Ghana (Jones et al, 2016; Sumaila & Tabong, 2018). Some of these studies conducted in sub-Saharan and other settings on ALRIs have been at the micro level using smaller samples (see Chen et al, 2014; Ramani, Pattankar, & PuttAhonnAPPA, 2016, Cardoso, Coimbra & Werneck, 2013, Fekadu, Terefe, & Alemie, 2014; Alemayehu et al, 2014; Arun, Gupta, Sachan, & Srivsatava, 2014; Mirji, Shashank, & Shrikant, 2016; Prajapati, Talsania, Lala & Sonalia, 2012). The results of such studies may not be applicable to all children under-five due to the unrepresentative nature of samples used.…”

Factors associated with healthcare-seeking behavior for symptomatic acute respiratory infection among children in East Africa: a cross-sectional study

“…Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is one of the most frequent childhood diseases that remains a huge public health problem globally [1][2][3][4]. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the region with the highest child mortality in the world [5][6][7][8].…”