Table 1. Risk factors for visceral leishmaniasis disease and infection in South Asia.
| Location | Design | Outcome | N | Risk factors | Protective factors | Reference |
| Bihar, India | Household level case-control | Kala-azar | 48 case, 46 control HH | Mud plastered house (4.45, <0.001)1, migration into village (3.1, <0.05), vegetation near house (2.8, <0.05), proximity to prior case (not quantified) | [28] | |
| Central Terai, Nepal | Case-control | Kala-azar | 84 cases, 105 controls | Cracked mud house walls (2.3, <0.05), palpably damp floor (4.0, <0.01), sleeps outside warm months (2.0, <0.05), laborer as household head (2.8, <0.01) | Owns cow or buffalo (0.34, <0.01), sleeps under bed net in warm months (0.2, p<0.001), sleeps on cot (0.44, p<0.01), ≥3 rooms (0.27, p<0.001) | [30] |
| Bihar, India | Case-control | Kala-azar | 134 cases, 406 controls | Another disease in past year (3.6, <0.01), history of kala-azar in household (1.8, <0.05), mud walls (2.4, <0.001), granary in house (4.3, <0.001), bamboo near house (2.3 (<0.01), house not sprayed in past 6 months (3.4, <0.001) | [31] | |
| Uttar Pradesh, India | Cross-sectional | Kala-azar | 2203 | Previous kala-azar case in household (42.2, <0.001), sleeps outside, ≥3 people per room, increasing cattle density (1.24, <0.01 in village 1; in village 2), age ≥15 years (2.2, p<0.05) | Bed net use NS2 (but ownership low) | [26] |
| Mymensingh, Bangladesh | Cross-sectional | Kala-azar | 2356 | Previous kala-azar case in same household (25.6, <0.001) or within 50 m (2.9, <0.001), age 3–45 years (3.7, <0.001) | Always sleeps in net in warm months (0.69, <0.01), each additional cow per 1000 m2 (0.81, <0.01) | [27] |
| Mymensingh, Bangladesh | Hospital-based case-control | Kala-azar | 60 cases, 60 controls | Mud house (28.9, <0.001), sleeping on floor (2.1, p not given) | Bed net use NS | [34] |
| Studies of subclinical infection | ||||||
| West Bengal, India | Cross-sectional | Positive LST | 150 | Increasing age, proximity to previous case of kala-azar3 | [10] | |
| Eastern Terai, Nepal | Cross-sectional | Positive serology | 373 | Proximity to ponds (3.7 [1.6–8.5]4), family size ≥6 (4.4 [1.6–12.6]), mud house (3.0 [1.1–7.6]), age ≥15 years (5.5 [1.2–25.0]) | Bed net use NS | [32] |
| West Bengal, India | Retrospective cohort | Seroconversion over 1year | 751 | Water body within 25 m (2.1 [1.4–4.5]), house dampness (2.4 [1.7–3.7]), livestock ownership (2.1[1.5–3.8]), Muslim religion (1.7 [1.3–2.4]) | Sleeps inside (0.6[0.4–0.8]), sleeps clothed (0.5[0.5–0.7]), always sleeps under bed net (0.7[0.5–0.9]) | [33] |
| Mymensingh, Bangladesh | Cross-sectional | Positive LST | 1379 | Previous kala-azar case in same household (2.86, <0.001) or within 50 m (1.72, <0.01), each 10-year increase in age (1.48, <0.001), additional cow per 1000 m2 (1.17, <0.05) | Bed net use NS | [7] |
| Mymensingh, Bangladesh | Cross-sectional | Positive serology | 1379 | Previous kala-azar case in same household (1.85, <0.05), each 10-year increase in age (1.12, <0.05) | Bed net use NS | [7] |
| Mymensingh, Bangladesh | Cross-sectional | Kala-azar vs seropositive | 1379 | Previous kala-azar case in same household (2.85, <0.01) | Consumption of beef or goat at least twice per month (0.49, <0.05), each 10-year increase in age (0.74, <0.001) | [7] |
1
Odds ratio, P value.
2
Not significant.
3
Statistical testing not presented.
4
Odds ratio [95% confidence intervals].