Table 1.
Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of young adults, adults and elderly patients in urban and rural healthcare facilities, Bangladesh, 2010–2011
| Characteristic | Young adults, 20–39 years | Middle aged, 40–59 years | Elderly, ⩾60 years | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urban, n = 2129 (%) | Rural, n = 622 (%) | P value | Urban, n = 935 (%) | Rural, n = 629 (%) | P value | Urban, n = 379 (%) | Rural, n = 360 (%) | P value | |
| Male sex | 1170 (54·9) | 206 (33·1) | <0·001 | 496 (53·0) | 257 (40·9) | <0·001 | 210 (56·0) | 170 (47·2) | 0·021 |
| Illiteracy of patients | 569 (26·7) | 80 (12·9) | <0·001 | 459 (49·1) | 269 (42·8) | 0·016 | 245 (65·3) | 210 (58·3) | 0·060 |
| Monthly family income, <US$100 | 824 (38·7) | 302 (48·6) | <0·001 | 291 (31·1) | 311 (49·4) | <0·001 | 117 (31·2) | 161 (44·7) | <0·001 |
| Body mass index (<18·5 kg/m2) | 534 (25·1) | 127 (20·4) | 0·019 | 162 (17·3) | 123 (19·6) | 0·292 | 89 (23·7) | 119 (33·1) | 0·006 |
| Use of sanitary toilet | 1593 (74·8) | 197 (31·7) | <0·001 | 711 (76·0) | 214 (34·0) | <0·001 | 274 (73·1) | 120 (33·3) | <0·001 |
| Fever (temperature ⩾37·8 °C) | 40 (1·9) | 119 (19·1) | <0·001 | 20 (2·1) | 139 (22·1) | <0·001 | 9 (2·4) | 77 (21·4) | <0·001 |
| History of abdominal pain | 1185 (55·7) | 506 (81·4) | <0·001 | 508 (54·3) | 495 (78·7) | <0·001 | 179 (47·7) | 261 (72·5) | <0·001 |
| Watery stool (lack of mucus/blood) | 2083 (97·8) | 564 (90·7) | <0·001 | 923 (98·7) | 579 (92·1) | <0·001 | 373 (99·4) | 320 (88·9) | <0·001 |
| Duration of diarrhoea (>1 day) | 2026 (95·2) | 588 (94·5) | 0·597 | 863 (92·3) | 574 (91·3) | 0·518 | 350 (93·3) | 329 (91·4) | 0·393 |
| Number of passed loose stools (>10 times in last 24 h) | 1221 (57·4) | 287 (46·1) | <0·001 | 552 (59·0) | 302 (48·0) | <0·001 | 228 (60·8) | 181 (50·3) | 0·005 |
| Dehydration (some or severe) | 1908 (89·6) | 394 (63·3) | <0·001 | 850 (90·9) | 390 (62·0) | <0·001 | 343 (91·5) | 234 (65·0) | <0·001 |
| Received antibiotic prior to hospital visit | 602 (28·3) | 96 (15·4) | <0·001 | 269 (28·8) | 126 (20·0) | <0·001 | 109 (29·1) | 76 (21·1) | 0·016 |