Table 2.
Distribution of intestinal parasites among parasite-positive individuals (N = 567) according to age and gender in the current study
| Age range (years),* n (%) | Gender | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1–3) (n = 54) | (4–6) (n = 65) | (7–10) (n = 61) | (11–15) (n = 43) | Individuals aged < 15 years (n = 239) | Individuals aged ≥ 15 years (n = 255) | Total of individuals with neither exact nor approximated age (n = 73) | Total/overall prevalence (%) (n = 567) | Level of statistical significance for prevalence differences between children and adults† (P-value) | Prevalence in females (n = 270), n (%) | Prevalence in males (n = 297), n (%) | Level of statistical significance for prevalence differences between genders2 (P-value) | |
| Giardia intestinalis | 22 (40.7) | 22 (33.8) | 18 (29.5) | 2 (4.7) | 66 (27.5) | 14 (5.5) | 17 (23.3) | 97 (17.1) | P < 0.0001* | 47 (17.4) | 50 (16.8) | P = 0.94 |
| Cryptosporidium spp. | 0 | 1 (1.5) | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.4) | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.2) | P = 0.97 | 0 | 1 (0.3) | P = 0.33 |
| Entamoeba histolytica/dispar | 12 (22.2) | 13 (20.0) | 12 (19.7) | 11 (25.6) | 50 (20.8) | 48 (18.8) | 13 (17.8) | 111 (19.6) | P = 0.63 | 56 (20.7) | 55 (18.5) | P = 0.57 |
| Entamoeba coli | 5 (9.2) | 7 (10.7) | 9 (14.8) | 3 (7.0) | 27 (11.3) | 43 (16.9) | 9 (12.3) | 79 (13.9) | P = 0.1 | 35 (13.0) | 44 (14.8) | P = 0.60 |
| Entamoeba hartmanni | 0 | 1 (1.5) | 0 | 1 (2.3) | 2 (0.8) | 1 (0.4) | 0 | 3 (0.5) | P = 0.95 | 1 (0.4) | 2 (0.7) | P = 0.61 |
| Iodamoeba bütschlii | 1 (1.9) | 0 | 0 | 1 (2.3) | 1 (0.4) | 2 (0.8) | 1 (1.4) | 4 (0.7) | P = 0.60 | 1 (0.4) | 3 (1.0) | P = 0.68 |
| Endolimax nana | 13 (24.0) | 25 (38.4) | 16 (26.2) | 27 (62.8) | 85 (35.4) | 124 (48.6) | 23 (31.5) | 233 (41.0) | P = 0.0044* | 104 (38.5 | 129 (43.4) | P = 0.27 |
| Chilomastix mesnili | 0 | 0 | 1 (1.6) | 1 (2.3) | 3 (1.3) | 2 (0.8) | 1 (1.4) | 6 (1.0) | P = 0.94 | 2 (0.7) | 4 (1.3) | P = 0.76 |
| Blastocystis hominis | 24 (44.4) | 27 (41.5) | 32 (52.5) | 24 (55.8) | 117 (48.8) | 165 (64.7) | 43 (59.0) | 325 (57.3) | P = 0.0006* | 158 (58.5) | 167 (56.2) | P = 0.64 |
*
It should be noted that there were 121 individuals whose age was not specifically reported; however, 32 of these were adults and therefore included in the group of individuals aged ≥ 15 years, and 16 were children who were included in the group of individuals aged < 15 years. Individuals younger than 15 years were considered as children.
†
P > 0.05 = Not statistically significant; *P < 0.05 = statistically significant.