Table III.
Relationships between the prevalence of zinc deficiency and other variables among children with diarrhoea.
| Parameter | Zinc status | Statistical comparison | ||
| Zinc- deficient n (%) |
Normal n (%) |
Total n (%) |
||
| Socio-economic status | ||||
| Low social class | 69 (33.8) | 135 (66.2) | 204 (100.0) | χ2 = 6.14, p = 0.013 |
| High social class | 7 (15.2) | 39 (84.8) | 46 (100.0) | |
| Fever | ||||
| Yes | 119 (65.4) | 63 (34.6) | 182 (100.0) | χ2 = 5.62, p = 0.018 |
| No | 55 (80.9) | 13 (19.1) | 68 (100.0) | |
| Vomiting | ||||
| Yes | 111 (73.5) | 40 (26.5) | 151 (100.0) | χ2 = 2.76, p = 0.097 |
| No | 63 (63.6) | 36 (36.4) | 99 (100.0) | |
| Underweight | ||||
| Underweight | 15 (33.3) | 30 (66.7) | 45 (100.0) | χ2 = 0.22, p = 0.637 |
| Normal | 61 (29.8) | 144 (70.2) | 205 (100.0) | |
| Stunting | ||||
| Yes | 11 (30.6) | 25 (69.4) | 36 (100.0) | χ2 = 0.00, p = 0.983 |
| No | 65 (30.4) | 149 (69.6) | 214 (100.0) | |
| Wasting | ||||
| Yes | 15 (34.1) | 29 (65.9) | 44 (100.0) | χ2 = 0.34, p = 0.558 |
| No | 61 (29.6) | 145 (70.4) | 206 (100.0) | |
| Dehydration status | ||||
| Dehydrated | 18 (26.5) | 50 (73.5) | 68 (100.0) | χ2 = 0.68, p = 0.409 |
| No signs of dehydration |
58 (31.9) | 124 (68.1) | 182 (100.0) | |
| Severity of dehydration | ||||
| Mild | 10 (27.8) | 26 (72.7) | 36 (100.0) | χ2 = 6.23, p = 0.044 |
| Moderate | 2 (10.0) | 18 (90.0) | 20 (100.0) | |
| Severe | 6 (50.0) | 6 (50.0) | 12 (100.0) | |