| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2013 | Volume
: 5
| Issue : 1 | Page : 8-14 |
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Profiling acute respiratory tract infections in children from Assam, India
Farzana Islam1, Ratna Sarma2, Arup Debroy3, Sumit Kar4, Ranabir Pal5
1 Department of Community Medicine, Mata Gujri Memorial Medical College, Kishanganj, Bihar, India
2 Department of Community Medicine, Assam Medical College, Assam, India
3 State Routine Immunization Officer, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
4 Department of Community Medicine, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences and Central Referral Hospital, Gangtok, Sikkim, India
5 Department of Community Medicine, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Gangtok, Sikkim, India
Correspondence Address:
Sumit Kar
Department of Community Medicine, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences and Central Referral Hospital, Gangtok, Sikkim
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0974-777X.107167
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Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are leading global cause of under-five mortality and morbidity. Objective: To elicit the prevalence and risk factors associated with ARI among under-five children. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was undertaken in 21 registered urban slums of Guwahati in Assam to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with ARI among 370 under-five children from 184 households and 370 families. Results: The prevalence of ARI was found to be 26.22%; infants and female children were more affected. Majority of the ARI cases were from nuclear families (84.54%), living in kutcha houses (90.72%) with inadequate ventilation (84.54%), overcrowded living condition (81.44%), with kitchen attached to the living room (65.98%) and using biomass fuel for cooking (89.69%). ARI was significantly associated with ventilation, location of kitchen in household; presence of overcrowding, nutritional status, and primary immunization status also had impacts on ARI. Conclusion: The present study had identified a high prevalence of the disease among under-fives. It also pointed out various socio-demographic, nutritional, and environmental modifiable risk factors which can be tackled by effective education of the community. |
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