Table 2.
Correlates of pneumonia deaths compared to other causes of deaths in children aged 4 weeks to 59 months in rural Bangladesh (n = 245)
| Variables | Pneumonia, n = 81 (%) | Other causes of death, n = 164 (%) | Unadjusted OR (95% CI) | Adjusted OR (95% CI)*** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | ||||
| 4 weeks–5 months | 47 (58.0) | 38 (23.2) | 8.9 (4.4–18.0)* | 5.5 (2.5–12.0)* |
| 6–11 months | 20 (24.7) | 25 (15.2) | 5.1 (2.6–13.0)* | 3.0 (1.2–7.5)* |
| 12–59 months | 14 (17.3) | 101 (61.6) | 1 | 1 |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 41 (50.6) | 85 (51.8) | 0.5 (0.6–1.6) | NA |
| Female | 40 (49.4) | 79 (48.2) | 1 | 1 |
| History of medical condition (multiple frequency) | ||||
| Heart disease | 14 (17.3) | 14 (8.5) | 2.2 (1.0–5.0)* | 1.4 (0.6–3.0) |
| Malnutrition | 5 (6.2) | 7 (4.3) | 1.5 (0.5–4.8) | |
| Others (liver disease, kidney disease, cancer, asthma, diarrhea, etc.) | 10 (12.3) | 17 (10.4) | 1.2 (0.4–2.8) | |
| None | 52 (64.1) | 126 (76.8) | 1 | 1 |
| Small at birth (< 1 year), n = 131† | 21/67 (31.3) | 16/64 (25.0) | 1.4 (0.6–3.0) | NA |
| Premature (< 37 weeks) (< 1 year), n = 131† | 15/67 (22.4) | 4/64 (6.3) | 4.3 (1.4–13.9)* | NA |
| Symptoms noted during last illness (multiple frequency) | ||||
| Fever | 44 (54.3) | 54 (32.3) | 2.5 (1.4–4.3)* | 0.9 (0.4–2.2) |
| Vomiting | 13 (16.0) | 34 (20.7) | 0.7 (0.4–1.5) | |
| Not passed stool | 5 (6.2) | 22 (13.4) | 0.4 (0.2–1.2) | |
| Unconscious | 6 (7.4) | 15 (9.1) | 0.8 (0.3–2.1) | |
| Convulsion | 9 (11.1) | 17 (10.4) | 1.1 (0.5–2.5) | |
| Others | 39 (48.1) | 67 (40.9) | 1.3 (0.8–2.3) | |
| None | 35 (43.2) | 73 (44.5) | 1 | 1 |
| Duration of illness that leads to death (days), n = 238⁑ | ||||
| ≥ 11 | 30 (38.0) | 45 (28.3) | 7.6 (3.1–18.7)* | 2.5 (0.8–7.4) |
| 2–10 | 42 (53.2) | 34 (21.4) | 14.1 (5.8–34.6)* | 5.8 (2.1–16.1)* |
| 0–1 | 7 (8.9) | 80 (50.3) | 1 | 1 |
| Sought care for illness that leads to death | ||||
| Yes | 74 (91.4) | 89 (54.3) | 8.9 (3.9–20.5)* | 3.4 (1.1–10.1)* |
| No | 7 (8.6) | 75 (45.7) | 1 | 1 |
| Sought care a number of days after onset of the disease (days) | ||||
| ≥ 2 | 39 (48.1) | 32 (19.5) | 12.4 (5.0–30.7)* | NA |
| 0–1 | 35 (43.2) | 57 (34.8) | 7.0 (2.9–16.7)* | |
| Did not seek treatment for illness | 7 (8.6) | 75 (45.7) | 1 | |
| Admission to a hospital/health facility, n = 163‡ | ||||
| Yes | 54 (73.0) | 56 (62.2) | 1.6 (0.8–3.2) | NA |
| No | 20 (27.0) | 34 (37.8) | 1 | |
| Sources of treatment (multiple frequency), n = 163‡ | ||||
| Home | 5 (6.8) | 4 (4.5) | 1.5 (0.4–5.9) | NA |
| Indigenous healer | 12 (16.2) | 15 (16.9) | 0.9 (0.4–2.2) | |
| Government clinic/hospital | 17 (23.0) | 29 (32.6) | 0.6 (0.3–1.2) | |
| Private clinic/hospital | 62 (83.8) | 68 (76.4) | 1.6 (0.7–3.5) | |
| Pharmacies/drug stores | 22 (29.7) | 24 (27.0) | 1.1 (0.6–2.3) | |
| Number of sources accessed to seek treatment | ||||
| ≥ 3 | 14 (17.3) | 15 (9.1) | 10.0 (3.5–29.0)* | NA |
| 2 | 24 (29.6) | 30 (18.3) | 8.6 (3.3–22.0)* | |
| 1 | 36 (44.4) | 44 (26.8) | 8.8 (3.6–21.4)* | |
| 0 (not sought treatment) | 7 (8.6) | 75 (45.7) | 1 | 1 |
| Place of death | ||||
| Hospital | 33 (40.7) | 29 (17.7) | 3.2 (1.8–5.8)* | NA |
| Home | 48 (59.3) | 135 (82.3) | 1 | |
Children who died from sepsis were exlcuded from the analysis
OR odds ratio, CI confidence interval, NA not applicable (those variables not included in the mutivariable model)
*p < 0.05
†Only available sample, n = 131
⁑Only available sample, n = 238
‡Only available sample, n = 163
***Model 1: dependent variable; causes of death (1 = pneumonia, 0 = other causes); variables included in the model were age at death, previous diagnosed illness (used as binominal variable—yes or no), symptoms noted during final illness (used as binominal variable—yes or no), duration of illness that leads to death, and sought care for illness that leads to death