Table 2.
Characteristics of children in the South Tongu district and bivariate associations with P. falciparum and Schistosoma haematobium infections
| Variables (number) | P. falciparum infection | OR (95 % CI) | P value | S. haematobium infection | OR (95 % CI) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (37) | No (367) | Yes (10) | No (394) | |||||
| Male gender (n = 206) | 20 | 186 | 1.2 (0.6–2.3) | 0.698 | 6 | 200 | 1.5 (0.4–5.2) | 0.75 |
| Age (±1SD) | 9.2 ± 2.1 | 11.4 ± 1.9 | – | 0.001 | 10.1 ± 0.9 | 9.4 ± 1.3 | – | 0.09 |
| Age group | ||||||||
| 5–7 (n = 108) | 7 | 101 | 0.6 (0.3–1.4) | 0.35 | 6 | 102 | 4.3 (1.18–15.5) | 0.03 |
| 8–10 (n = 130) | 7 | 123 | 0.5 (0.2–1.1) | 0.07 | 2 | 128 | 0.5 (0.1–2.5) | 0.50 |
| 11–13 (n = 166) | 23 | 143 | 2.5 (1.2–5.1) | 0.006 | 2 | 164 | 4.3 (1.2–15.5) | 0.03 |
| Malnourished (n = 211) | 25 | 186 | 2.0 (0.9–4.5) | 0.05 | 5 | 206 | 0.9 (0.3–3.2) | 1 |
| Stunted (n = 90) | 16 | 74 | 3.0 (1.5–6.07) | <0.001 | 2 | 88 | 0.9 (0.2–4.2) | 1 |
| Underweight (n = 87) | 5 | 82 | 0.3 (0.1–0.9) | 0.02 | 1 | 86 | 0.4 (0.1–3.2) | 0.50 |
| Wasted (n = 34) | 4 | 30 | 1.36 (0.5–4.1) | 0.76 | 2 | 32 | 2.82 (0.7–13.8) | 0.20 |
| Haemoglobin (±SD) | 9.1 ± 1.1 | 13.5 ± 2.4 | – | <0.001 | 11.1 ± 0.5 | 11.7 ± 0.8 | – | 0.116 |
| Any anaemia (n = 295) | 33 | 262 | 3.31 (1.1–9.6) | 0.006 | 5 | 290 | 0.4 (0.1–1.3) | 0.14 |
| Severe (n = 17) | 4 | 13 | 3.30 (1.0–10.7) | 0.06 | 2 | 15 | 5.5 (1.1–28.1) | 0.07 |
| Moderate (n = 191) | 24 | 167 | 2.49 (1.2–5.1) | 0.009 | 2 | 189 | 0.3 (0.1–1.3) | 0.11 |
| Mild (n = 87) | 5 | 82 | 0.54 (0.2–1.4) | 0.21 | 1 | 86 | 0.4 (0.04–3.2) | 0.47 |
| Protection against malariaa (307) | 23 | 284 | 0.48 (0.2–1.0) | 0.038 | 3 | 304 | 0.12 (0.03–0.50) | 0.002 |
| Bed nets (131) | 2 | 129 | 0.07 (0.02–0.3) | <0.001 | 0 | 131 | – | |
| Repellents (13) | 5 | 8 | 7.0 (2.1–22.7) | <0.001 | 2 | 11 | 8.7 (1.6–45.8) | 0.04 |
| House screens (70) | 5 | 65 | 0.7 (0.3–1.9) | 0.522 | 1 | 69 | 0.5 (0.07–4.2) | 0.70 |
| Medication in past 4 weeks (93) | 11 | 82 | 1.5 (0.7–3.1) | 0.310 | 0 | 93 | – | – |
| Childs knowledge of cause of malaria | ||||||||
| Yes (161) | 19 | 142 | 1.9 (0.9–3.8) | 0.1 | 2 | 159 | 0.37 (0.07–1.76) | 0.32 |
| No (243) | 16 | 227 | 8 | 235 | ||||
| Reported travel outside home in 4 weeks | ||||||||
| Yes (79) | 16 | 63 | 3.6 (1.8–7.4) | 0.001 | 1 | 78 | 0.4 (0.05–3.6) | 0.69 |
| No (325) | 21 | 304 | 9 | 316 | ||||
| Sources of water | ||||||||
| River (46) | 17 | 29 | 9.9 (4.6–20.9) | <0.001 | 5 | 41 | 8.6 (2.4–31.0) | 0.002 |
| Borehole (283) | 10 | 273 | 0.1 (0.06–0.3) | <0.001 | 2 | 281 | 0.1 (0.02–0.510 | 0.01 |
| Tap water (75) | 10 | 65 | 1.7 (0.8–3.7) | 0.16 | 3 | 72 | 1.9 (0.5–7.5) | 0.4 |
| Activity in river | ||||||||
| Yes (90) | 22 | 68 | 6.4 (3.2–13.1) | <0.001 | 6 | 84 | 5.5 (1.5–20.1) | 0.001 |
| No (314) | 15 | 299 | – | 4 | 310 | |||
| Frequency of activities per week in river | 10.3 ± 2.4 | 10.1 ± 1.1 | – | 0.36 | 11.3 ± 1.4 | 9.2 ± 2.0 | – | 0.001 |
| Toilet facilities | ||||||||
| Yes (220) | 22 | 198 | 1.3 (0.6–2.5) | 0.5 | 5 | 215 | 0.8 (0.2–2.9) | 1.0 |
| No (184) | 15 | 169 | – | 5 | 179 | |||
| Child’s knowledge on schistosomiasis | ||||||||
| Yes (9) | 2 | 7 | 2.9 (0.5–14) | 0.19 | 1 | 8 | 5.3 (0.6–47.4) | 0.2 |
| No (395) | 35 | 360 | – | 9 | 386 | |||
| Caregivers knowledge on helminths infections | ||||||||
| Yes (48) | 4 | 44 | 0.9 (0.3–2.6) | 0.1 | 2 | 46 | 1.9 (0.4–9.2) | 0.6 |
| No (356) | 33 | 323 | – | 8 | 348 | |||
| Parent/guardian education | ||||||||
| Primary (121) | 10 | 111 | 0.8 (0.4–1.8) | 0.68 | 2 | 119 | 0.6 (0.1–2.8) | 0.7 |
| Secondary (101) | 11 | 90 | 1.3 (0.6–2.7) | 0.4 | 3 | 98 | 0.4 (0.1–1.67) | 0.3 |
| Tertiary (14) | 4 | 10 | 4.3 (1.2–14.5) | 0.03 | 1 | 13 | 3.3 (0.3–27.6) | 0.3 |
| None (168) | 12 | 156 | 0.6 (0.3–1.33) | 0.24 | 3 | 165 | 0.6 (0.15–2.3) | 0.56) |
| Socioeconomic score of household | ||||||||
| Lowest (388) | 31 | 357 | 0.1 (0.05–0.4) | <0.001 | 7 | 381 | 0.08 (0.02–0.34) | 0.005 |
| Middle (13) | 5 | 8 | 7.1 (2.2–22.6) | 0.003 | 3 | 10 | 16.5 (3.7–73.6) | 0.002 |
| Highest (3) | 1 | 2 | 5.1 (0.5–57.2) | 0.25 | 0 | 3 | – | – |
| Use of anti-helminth drugs in past 3 months | ||||||||
| Yes (378) | 23 | 355 | 0.2 (0.09–0.60) | 0.005 | 7 | 371 | 0.08 (0.02–0.33) | 0.002 |
| No (26) | 14 | 12 | 4 | 22 | – | – | ||
aNumber of children engaging each activity, overlap due to multiple responses; None of P. falciparum infected children reported with fever in past 48 h and/or current axillary temperature ≥ 37.5 °C; Continuous variables reported as geometric means with standard deviations (SD); OR odds ratio, CI confidence interval