Research Department, FOCOS Orthopaedic Hospital, P.O.Box KD 779, Accra-Ghana.
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, P.O. Box LG 118, Accra, Ghana.
Int Health. 2024 Jan 2;16(1):97-106. doi: 10.1093/inthealth/ihad046.
Diarrhoea and pneumonia are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children aged <5 y (under five) globally. This study sought to investigate the prevalence and determinants of diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections (ARIs) among children under five in West Africa.
The most recent demographic and health survey (DHS) standard for 13 West African countries was used in the study. We calculated the prevalence of diarrhoea and ARIs (2 wk prior to the survey) and performed multivariable complex logistic regression analysis to identify possible predictors of diarrhoea and ARIs.
The weighted prevalence of diarrhoea and ARI was 13.7% and 15.9%, respectively. The prevalence of comorbid diarrhoea and ARI was 4.4%. Children aged <2 y (p<0.001), mothers aged <30 y (p<0.003), mothers without formal education (p<0.001), poor households (p<0.001) and poor nutritional status, wasting (p=0.005) and underweight (p<0.001), were the independent predictors of diarrhoea. The independent predictors of ARIs were children with no childhood vaccinations (p=0.002), use of solid fuel in the household (p=0.007), being underweight (p=0.05) and diarrhoea (p<0.001).
The findings imply the need for holistic public health interventions such as increased vaccination coverage, population-based nutritional programmes and campaigns on the use of cleaner cooking fuel targeted at high-risk subgroups in the population to reduce the burden and adverse effects of diarrhoea and ARIs in the West African region.
腹泻和肺炎是全球 5 岁以下儿童发病和死亡的主要原因。本研究旨在调查西非 5 岁以下儿童腹泻和急性呼吸道感染（ARI）的流行情况及其决定因素。
本研究使用了最近的 13 个西非国家人口与健康调查（DHS）标准。我们计算了腹泻和 ARI（调查前 2 周）的流行率，并进行了多变量复杂逻辑回归分析，以确定腹泻和 ARI 的可能预测因素。
腹泻和 ARI 的加权流行率分别为 13.7%和 15.9%。腹泻和 ARI 合并患病率为 4.4%。年龄<2 岁的儿童（p<0.001）、年龄<30 岁的母亲（p<0.003）、未接受正规教育的母亲（p<0.001）、贫困家庭（p<0.001）和营养不良、消瘦（p=0.005）和体重不足（p<0.001）是腹泻的独立预测因素。ARI 的独立预测因素是儿童未接受儿童疫苗接种（p=0.002）、家庭使用固体燃料（p=0.007）、体重不足（p=0.05）和腹泻（p<0.001）。
这些发现表明需要进行整体公共卫生干预，例如提高疫苗接种覆盖率、以人群为基础的营养方案以及关于使用清洁烹饪燃料的宣传活动，针对高危人群，以减轻腹泻和 ARI 在西非地区的负担和不良影响。
