Table 3.
Logistic regression of correlates of childhood morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa
| Variable | Childhood morbidity | ||
| Fever | Cough | Diarrhoea | |
| aOR (95% CI) | aOR (95% CI) | aOR (95% CI) | |
| Mother’s age | |||
| 15–24 | 1.46*** (1.29 to 1.64) | 1.32*** (1.17 to 1.48) | 1.47*** (1.33 to 1.61) |
| 25–34 | 1.19*** (1.08 to 1.30) | 1.19*** (1.09 to 1.31) | 1.23*** (1.12 to 1.34) |
| 35+ | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Education | |||
| None | 0.85** (0.77 to 0.94) | 0.65*** (0.59 to 0.72) | 1.14** (1.04 to 1,26) |
| Primary | 1.04 (0.95 to 1.14) | 0.99 (0.92 to 1.09) | 1.26*** (1.14 to 1.39) |
| Secondary/higher | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Household wealth | |||
| Poorest | 1.37*** (1.19 to 1.58) | 1.09 (0.93 to 1.27) | 1.28** (1.11 to 1.49) |
| Poorer | 1.18* (1.03 to 1.35) | 1.01 (0.88 to 1.16) | 1.21** (1.05 to 1.39) |
| Middle | 1.15* (1.01 to 1.31) | 0.99 (0.87 to 1.14) | 1.07 (0.93 to 1.24) |
| Richer | 1.109 (0.97 to 1.24) | 1.02 (0.89 to 1.15) | 1.10 (0.96 to 1.27) |
| Richest | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Residence | |||
| Urban | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Rural | 1.04 (0.94 to 1.15) | 0.96 (0.86 to 1.07) | 0.94 (0.85 to 1.05) |
| Employment | |||
| Not working | 0.79*** (0.74 to 0.86) | 0.85*** (0.79 to 0.92) | 0.88*** (0.82 to 0.94) |
| Working | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Media exposure | |||
| Not exposed | 0.98 (0.91 to 1.05) | 0.98 (0.91 to 1.05) | |
| Exposed | 1 | 1 | |
| ANC attendance | |||
| Never attended | 1.00 (0.93 to 1.09) | 1.01 (0.92 to 1.10) | 1.05 (0.96 to 1.14) |
| Attended | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sex of child | |||
| Male | 1 | 1 | |
| Female | 0.96 (0.89 to 1.02) | 0.92* (0.86 to 0.98) | |
| Child’s age (months) | |||
| 0–11 | 0.84*** (0.78 to 0.91) | 0.91* (0.83 to 0.99) | 1.15** (1.06 to 1.26) |
| 12–23 | 1.13** (1.05 to 1.21) | 0.97 (0.90 to 1.05) | 1.69*** (1.57 to 1.82) |
| 24–59 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ever had vaccine | |||
| No | 0.68*** (0.62 to 0.74) | 0.67*** (0.60 to 0.69) | 0.58*** (0.52 to 0.64) |
| Yes | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Birth order | |||
| First-order birth | 1 | 1 | |
| Second-order birth | 1.16** (1.07 to 1.27) | 1.05 (0.96 to 1.13) | |
| Third or higher order birth | 1.33*** (1.19 to 1.49) | 1.14* (1.01 to 1.29) | |
| Child’s size at birth | |||
| Large | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Average | 0.81*** (0.76 to 0.87) | 0.82*** (0.77 to 0.88) | 0.82*** (0.76 to 0.88) |
| Small | 1.16** (1.07 to 1.23) | 1.12* (1.02 to 1.22) | 1.14** (1.04 to 1.25) |
| Source of water | |||
| Improved | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Non-improved | 0.99 (0.93 to 1.07) | 0.97 (0.89 to 1.04) | 0.94 (0.87 to 1.01) |
| Type of toilet facility | |||
| Improved | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Non-improved | 1.08 (0.99 to 1.17) | 1.09* (1.00 to 1.18) | 1.15** (1.05 to 1.25) |
| Goodness of fit | |||
| F-adjusted test statistic | 0.531 | 0.550 | 0.972 |
| Prob>F | 0.853 | 0.839 | 0.461 |
Level of significance at *p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001.
ANC, antenatal care; aOR, adjusted OR.