Table 4.
Univariate analyses and logistic regression examining factors associated with vitamin D deficiency among school children in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
| Variable | Total N = 510 |
Vitamin D deficiency | COR (95% CI) |
P-value | AOR (95% CI)* |
P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present N = 436 |
Absent N = 74 |
||||||
| Age | |||||||
|
6–10 years 11–15 years |
401 (78.6) 109 (21.4) |
334 (83.3) 102 (93.6) |
67 (16.7) 7 (6.4) |
1 2.9 (1.3–6.6) |
0.007 |
1 2.8 (1.2–6.2) |
0.014 |
| Gender | |||||||
|
Male Female |
277 (54.3) 233 (45.7) |
238 (85.9) 198 (85.0) |
39 (14.1) 35 (15.0) |
1 0.9 (0.6–1.5) |
0.763 | – | – |
| Mother literacy level | |||||||
|
Literate Illiterate |
72 (14.1) 438 (85.9) |
62 (86.1) 374 (85.4) |
10 (13.9) 64 (14.6) |
0.9 (0.5–1.9) 1 |
0.872 | – | – |
| Father literacy | |||||||
|
Literate Illiterate |
60 (11.8) 450 (88.2) |
56 (93.3) 380 (84.4) |
4 (6.7) 70 (15.6) |
2.6 (0.9–7.3) 1 |
0.066 | – | – |
| Ethnicity | |||||||
|
Pashtun Non-Pashtun |
393 (77.1) 117 (22.9) |
337 (85.8) 99 (84.6) |
56 (14.2) 18 (15.4) |
1.1 (0.6–1.9) 1 |
0.760 | – | – |
| Family economic status† | |||||||
|
Poor Not poor |
468 (91.8) 42 (8.2) |
405 (86.5) 31 (73.8) |
63 (13.5) 11 (26.2) |
2.3 (1.1–4.8) 1 |
0.025 |
2.0 (1.0–4.3) 1 |
0.049 |
| Obesity present | |||||||
|
Yes No |
18 (3.5) 492 (96.5) |
14 (77.8) 422 (85.8) |
4 (22.2) 70 (14.2) |
1 1.7 (0.6–5.4) |
0.344 | – | – |
| Doing outdoor physical activity | |||||||
|
Acceptable Unacceptable |
166 (32.5) 344 (67.5) |
119 (71.7) 317 (92.2) |
47 (28.3) 27 (7.8) |
1 4.6 (2.8–7.8) |
< 0.001 |
1 4.8 (2.8–8.1) |
< 0.001 |
| Daily sunlight exposure | |||||||
|
≥60 min < 60 min |
146 (28.6) 364 (71.4) |
115 (78.8) 321 (88.2) |
31 (21.2) 43 (11.8) |
1 2.0 (1.2–3.3) |
0.006 |
1 2.2 (1.3–3.7) |
0.005 |
| Topical use of sunscreen | |||||||
|
Yes No |
32 (6.3) 478 (93.7) |
14 (43.8) 211 (44.1) |
18 (56.2) 267 (55.9) |
1.1 (0.5–1.7) 1 |
0.714 | ||
| Eating fish (at least once in two weeks) | |||||||
|
Yes No |
90 (17.6) 420 (82.4) |
71 (78.9) 365 (86.9) |
19 (21.1) 55 (13.1) |
1 1.8 (1.0–3.2) |
0.049 | – | – |
CI, confidence interval; COR, crude odds ratio; AOR, adjusted odds ratio.
*Variables not significant on bivariate analysis were not included in the logistic regression model.
†Family economic status: poor < 170 Afghanis (< 1.90 USD) per person per day; not poor ≥170 Afghanis (≥1.90 USD) per person per day.