Risk correlates of acute respiratory infections in children under five years of age in slums of Bankura, West Bengal

Abstract

Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity globally in
children under five years of age. Objective: To find out prevalence and risk factors of ARI among under five
children. Methods: A population based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban slums of
Bankura, West Bengal on the prevalence of ARI and feeding practices, nutrition and immunization among 152
children under five years of age. Results: Overall prevalence of ARI was 44.73 percent; 43.47 percent male and
45.78 percent female were affected with ARI; half of the infants suffered from ARI (51.21%), it was 45.71
percent in 13- 24 months age groups; with increasing age, prevalence of ARI gradually decreased. ARI was seen
in 45.76 percent of exclusively breast fed children and 57.89 percent in children with breast feeding less than six
months; in bottle fed children ARI prevalence was 47.82 compared to 44.18 percent in breast-fed. Risk of ARI
is almost equal in normal participants and undernourished children. ARI cases were seen among 38.73 percent
of completely immunization in comparison to 80.00 percent of partially-immunized children (X2=4.97,
p=0.026). Conclusion: The present study had identified a high prevalence of ARI in children less than five
years of age. In our study population, ARI was significantly associated with immunization status, but not with
feeding practices and nutritional status of the child.