Table 2. Multivariable risk ratios, corresponding 95% confidence intervals and adjusted predictions of the factors significantly associated with acute gastroenteritis in children of <4 years of age.
| Children with AGE (n = 1536) | Children without AGE (n = 7232) | Adjusted RR1 (95%CI) | Adjusted AGE predictions1,7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season2 | ||||
| Summer | 283 (18.42%) | 1765 (24.41%) | Reference | 13.56% |
| Spring | 410 (26.69%) | 1899 (26.26%) | 1.28 (1.12–1.45) | 17.44% |
| Autumn | 396 (25.78%) | 2066 (28.57%) | 1.21 (1.05–1.39) | 16.53% |
| Winter | 447 (29.10%) | 1502 (20.77%) | 1.67 (1.48–1.88) | 23.08% |
| Child age3 x breastfeeding | ||||
| Never-breastfed infant | 64 (4.17%) | 352 (4.87%) | Reference | 14.08% |
| ≤6 month-old breastfed infant | 19 (1.24%) | 245 (3.39%) | 0.51 (0.31–0.84) | 7.22% |
| >6 month-old breastfed infant | 53 (3.45%) | 232 (3.21%) | 1.29 (0.92–1.74) | 18.21% |
| Infant with unknown breastfeeding history | 130 (8.46%) | 531 (7.34%) | 1.31 (0.99–1.69) | 18.57% |
| Toddler | 913 (59.44%) | 3886 (53.73%) | 1.34 (1.06–1.66) | 18.93% |
| Pre-schooler | 357 (23.24%) | 1986 (27.46%) | 1.13 (0.87–1.44) | 15.96% |
| Chronic enteropathies4 | ||||
| No | 1352 (88.02%) | 6786 (93.83%) | Reference | 16.82% |
| Yes | 184 (11.98%) | 446 (6.17%) | 1.55 (1.32–1.79) | 25.80% |
| Chronic respiratory diseases5 | ||||
| No | 1388 (90.36%) | 6853 (94.76%) | Reference | 17.04% |
| Yes | 148 (9.64%) | 379 (5.24%) | 1.44 (1.23–1.68) | 24.33% |
| Developmental disabilities6 | ||||
| No | 1477 (96.16%) | 7118 (98.42%) | Reference | 17.26% |
| Yes | 59 (3.84%) | 114 (1.58%) | 1.72 (1.35–2.15) | 29.26% |
| Using gastric antacids | ||||
| No | 1488 (96.88%) | 7152 (98.89%) | Reference | 17.35% |
| Yes | 48 (3.13%) | 80 (1.11%) | 1.56 (1.13–2.09) | 26.77% |
| Parent working in healthcare | ||||
| No | 1148 (74.74%) | 5611 (77.59%) | Reference | 17.04% |
| Yes | 388 (25.26%) | 1621 (22.41%) | 1.13 (1.01–1.25) | 19.11% |
| Single-parent family | ||||
| No | 1494 (97.27%) | 7101 (98.19%) | Reference | 17.40% |
| Yes | 42 (2.73%) | 131 (1.81%) | 1.35 (1.01–1.76) | 23.25% |
| N children in the house | ||||
| 1 child | 492 (32.03%) | 2574 (35.59%) | Reference | 15.73% |
| 2 children | 770 (50.13%) | 3370 (46.60%) | 1.19 (1.07–1.32) | 18.69% |
| ≥3 children | 274 (17.84%) | 1288 (17.81%) | 1.15 (1.00–1.31) | 17.99% |
| Cumulated DCC attendance | ||||
| None | 680 (44.27%) | 3670 (50.75%) | Reference | 15.79% |
| 1–3 months | 72 (4.69%) | 275 (3.80%) | 1.47 (1.18–1.81) | 23.25% |
| 4–6 months | 83 (5.40%) | 250 (3.46%) | 1.51 (1.22–1.84) | 23.86% |
| 7–12 months | 291 (18.95%) | 1029 (14.23%) | 1.33 (1.18–1.51) | 21.04% |
| 13–24 months | 246 (16.02%) | 1094 (15.13%) | 1.11 (0.97–1.27) | 17.56% |
| >24 months | 164 (10.68%) | 914 (12.64%) | 1.03 (0.86–1.22) | 16.20% |
| Owning poultry and/or birds | ||||
| No | 1406 (91.54%) | 6724 (92.98%) | Reference | 17.25% |
| Yes | 130 (8.46%) | 508 (7.02%) | 1.23 (1.04–1.44) | 21.05% |
AGE = acute gastroenteritis; RR = risk ratio; 95%CI = 95% confidence interval; DCC = day-care centre.
1Adjusted for urbanization degree, socio-economic status, year, and child’s gender in addition to all the other variables included in this table.
2Autumn, September–November; winter, December–February; spring, March–May; summer, June–August.
3Infant, ≤12 months; toddler, 13–36 months; pre-schooler, 37–47 months.
4E.g. bowel cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, food allergy/intolerance, malabsorption syndromes, gastroesophageal reflux disease, chronic gastritis, and peptic ulcer disease.
5E.g. asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other chronic lung diseases, respiratory allergies, lung cancer, and pulmonary hypertension.
6E.g. mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Down’s syndrome and other genetic disorders, congenital defects, learning disabilities, mental illness, and traumatic brain injury.
7Aka predictive margins are the adjusted prevalences of AGE for each stratum of the independent variables included in the model and denote the probability for an AGE event to occur for individuals in those strata.