Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of 434 children with at least one diarrhoea episode in a birth cohort in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India 2009–13
| 0 antibiotics reported for diarrhoea (n = 166) |
1 + antibiotics reported for diarrhoea (n = 268) |
|
|---|---|---|
| No. (%) children | No. (%) children | |
| Household characteristics | ||
| Socioeconomic statusa | ||
| Low | 114 (68.7) | 168 (62.7) |
| Medium | 50 (30.1) | 94 (35.1) |
| High | 2 (1.2) | 6 (2.2) |
| Maternal education | ||
| No formal education | 67 (40.4) | 93 (34.7) |
| Primary/middle school | 52 (31.3) | 97 (36.2) |
| Higher secondary school | 42 (25.3) | 69 (25.7) |
| College/polytechnic/professional school | 5 (3.0) | 9 (3.4) |
| Poor household hygieneb | 75 (45.2) | 149 (55.6) |
| Crowding | ||
| High (> 4 people/room) | 52 (31.3) | 78 (29.1) |
| Medium (3.1–4 people/room) | 63 (38.0) | 103 (38.4) |
| Low (≤ 3 people/room) | 51 (30.7) | 87 (32.5) |
| Child characteristics | ||
| Sex of child | ||
| Male | 87 (52.4) | 147 (54.9) |
| Female | 79 (47.6) | 121 (45.1) |
| Cesarean section | 29 (17.5) | 45 (16.8) |
| Low birthweightc | 33 (20.3) | 43 (16.3) |
| Preterm birthc | 19 (11.7) | 26 (9.9) |
| Baby kept in ICU at birth | 9 (5.4) | 23 (8.6) |
| Antibiotics at birthc | 3 (1.9) | 8 (3.1) |
| Age at first diarrhoea | ||
| <6 months | 103 (62.0) | 204 (76.1) |
| 6 month–1 year | 44 (26.5) | 52 (19.4) |
| >1 year | 19 (11.4) | 12 (4.5) |
| Age (months) at stopping exclusive breastfeeding (mean, SD) | 4.2 (2.0) | 3.8 (2.1) |
| Age (months) at stopping all breastfeeding (mean, SD) | 17.4 (8.7) | 16.2 (8.3) |
ICU, intensive care unit. SD, standard deviation
bPoor household hygiene was based a score of less than 12 on a scale developed from an assessment of water, food, and personal hygiene.46
cSeven missing values for low birthweight; 9 missing values for preterm birth; 13 missing values for antibiotics at birth.