Prevalence of infections among 6-16 years old children attending a semi-rural school in Western Maharashtra, India

Authors

  • R M Mandlik
  • S A Chiplonkar
  • V V Khadilkar
  • S Phanse- Gupte
  • Z M Mughal
  • V G Patwardhan
  • A V Khadilkar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32677/IJCH.2015.v02.i04.010

Keywords:

Gastrointestinal tract infections, K-means cluster analysis, Morbidity, Stunting, Underweight, Upper respiratory tract infections

Abstract

Background: Infections are an important cause of morbidity in rural India. Reports on the prevalence of infections in older children and their effects on growth are scarce. Objective: The objectives were to determine the prevalence of common infections among 6-16 year old school-children in a semi-rural setting in Western India and to assess the influence of infections on the growth status of the children. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a semi-rural setting in a Zilla Parishad Primary School, Karegaon, Maharashtra. 802 children (boys = 439), 6-16 years of age were assessed. Data on height, weight and infectionrelated symptoms reported by children (pre-tested, validated questionnaire) were collected. K-means cluster analysis was used to create three clusters based on the severity of infections, and one-way analysis of variance with post-hoc Tukey’s multiple comparisons was used to test the significance of differences in means of various characteristics of the subjects in three clusters. Results: 43% boys and 49% girls reported symptoms of respiratory tract infections occasionally, and 28% boys and 27% girls complained of gastrointestinal
(GI) infections occasionally. Children with more severe infections were more likely to be shorter and lighter; this was more marked in girls. Conclusions: Rural school-going children (aged 6-16 years) suffer from high rates of infections, mainly upper respiratory tract infections followed by GI tract infections.

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Published

2015-12-29

Issue

Section

Original Articles

How to Cite

Prevalence of infections among 6-16 years old children attending a semi-rural school in Western Maharashtra, India. (2015). Indian Journal of Child Health, 2(4), 182-186. https://doi.org/10.32677/IJCH.2015.v02.i04.010

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