Prevalence of and factors associated with childhood diarrhoeal disease and acute respiratory infection in Bangladesh: an analysis of a nationwide cross-sectional survey

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study aimed to estimate the prevalence of childhood diarrhoeal diseases (CDDs) and acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and also to determine the factors associated with these conditions at the population level in Bangladesh.SettingThe study entailed an analysis of nationally representative cross-sectional secondary data from the most recent Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2017–2018.ParticipantsA total of 7222 children aged below 5 years for CDDs and 7215 children aged below 5 years for ARIs during the survey from mothers aged between 15 and 49 years were the participants of this study. In the bivariate and multivariable analyses, we used Pearson χ2 test and binary logistic regression, respectively, for both outcomes.ResultsThe overall prevalence of CDD and ARI among children aged below 5 years was found to be 4.91% and 3.03%, respectively. Younger children were more likely to develop both CDDs and ARIs compared with their older counterparts. Children belonging to households classified as poorest and with unimproved floor materials had a higher prevalence of diarrhoea than those from households identified as richest and with improved floor material, respectively. Stunted children had 40.8% higher odds of diarrhoea than normal children. Being male and having mothers aged below 20 years were 48.9% and two times more likely to develop ARI than female counterparts and children of mothers aged 20–34 years, respectively. Children whose mothers had no formal education or had primary and secondary education had higher odds of ARI compared with children of mothers having higher education.ConclusionThis study found that children aged below 24 months were at higher risk of having CDDs and ARIs. Thus, programmes targeting these groups should be designed and emphasis should be given to those from poorest wealth quintile to reduce CDDs and ARIs.

Intestinal Parasitic Infections Among Pediatric Patients in a Metropolitan City of Bangladesh With Emphasis on Cryptosporidiosis

“…Diarrheal diseases are a significant public health problem that affects children in developing countries where insufficient sanitation, hygiene, and portable water supply are the critical factors [13,[20][21][22][23][24][25]. In Bangladesh, one-third of the child death burden is due to diarrhea, a lifethreatening disease [26][27][28]. It was observed that a rural child suffers from 4.6 episodes of diarrhea and about 230,000 children die among them per year [26].…”

“…In Bangladesh, one-third of the child death burden is due to diarrhea, a lifethreatening disease [26][27][28]. It was observed that a rural child suffers from 4.6 episodes of diarrhea and about 230,000 children die among them per year [26]. Therefore, it is essential to identify the etiology with the proper diagnostic procedures, followed by disease management interventions are then possible.…”

The effects of social determinants on children’s health outcomes in Bangladesh slums through an intersectionality lens: An application of multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy (MAIHDA)

“…The poor health outcomes experienced by U5y living in Bangladesh slums are often shaped by social determinants of health (SDoH) [13][14][15]. SDoH are described as the conditions in which people live, grow, learn, work, play, and age [13,16].…”

“…Previous studies have investigated the associations between SDoH and health outcomes (i.e. diarrhoea, fever, cough and ARI) among U5y in Bangladesh [7,8,14,15,[24][25][26][27][28][29]. They have found that child's age [7,8,14,28,29], child's gender [7,14,15], mother's employment [28], father's occupation [24], housing conditions [28], and low birth weight [29] are associated with ARI among U5y in the country.…”

“…diarrhoea, fever, cough and ARI) among U5y in Bangladesh [7,8,14,15,[24][25][26][27][28][29]. They have found that child's age [7,8,14,28,29], child's gender [7,14,15], mother's employment [28], father's occupation [24], housing conditions [28], and low birth weight [29] are associated with ARI among U5y in the country. Similarly, low socio-economic status measured by the household wealth index [8,14,15,24,25,27,28], parental education [8,14,24,27], rural residency and regional differences [8] are associated with fever, ARI, diarrhoea, and cough in U5y.…”