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Published on: November 7, 2018
Risk factors for acute diarrhoea among inhabitants of Kampala District, Uganda
G W Nasinyama1, S A McEwen, J B Wilson
1Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Makere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Objective:
To identify modifiable individual and household risk factors for diarrhoea among people of all ages in Kampala district, Uganda.
Design:
A cross-sectional, analytical study.
Setting:
Multi-stage sampling. Four purposively selected parishes, two each from low and high socio-economic residential areas in Kampala district. Two randomly selected zones per parish with 60 households randomly selected from each zone.
Study Group:
All members present in each household at time of study. Individual and household information collected by means of personal interview using a questionnaire.
Main Outcome Measures:
Odds of diarrhoea among individuals or households exposed to a study factor compared with the odds of diarrhoea among those not exposed to the factor.
Results:
Drinking raw chicken eggs was significantly (P < 0.01) and strongly (odds ratio (OR) = 99) associated with diarrhoea among residents of Kampala district. The odds of diarrhoea in households that 'cooked just enough food per meal' was significantly less (OR = 0.42) than in those that did not. People who used municipal water supplies and those who boiled their drinking water were significantly less likely (OR = 0.27, OR = 0.33, respectively) than those who used other water sources and/or who did not boil drinking water to report an episode of diarrhoea in the 2 weeks preceding the survey. The odds of diarrhoea were 2.6 times greater for individuals who reported a pest problem than for those who did not, while keeping pets was found to be protective (OR = 0.43). The number of income earners was also significantly (P < 0.5) and negatively (OR = 0.59) associated with the occurrence of diarrhoea in a member of the household.
Conclusions:
The findings of this study underscore the importance of proper food handling, preparation and eating habits as well as safe water, sanitation practices and socio-economic factors in the epidemiology of diarrhoea in developing countries.
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