Nutritional Status and Intestinal Parasite in School Age Children: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract EN

Background.

The objectives of this study were to determine the burden of underweight and intestinal parasitic infection in the urban and rural elementary school children.

Methods.

A comparative cross-sectional study design was conducted.

Binary logistic regression was used to identify the determinants of malnutrition or intestinal parasites.

Two independent samples’ t -test was used to identify the effect of malnutrition on school performance or hemoglobin level.

Results.

A total of 2372 students were included.

Quarters (24.8%) of school children were underweight.

Underweight was associated with sex [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.61; 95% CI = 0.47–0.78], age [AOR = 0.21; 95% CI = 0.16–0.28], intestinal parasitic infection [AOR 2.67; 95% CI = 2–3.55], and family size [AOR 23; 95% CI = 17.67–30.02].

The prevalence of intestinal parasite among school children was 61.7% [95% CI = 60%–64%].

Shoe wearing practice [AOR 0.71; 95% CI = 0.58–0.87], personal hygiene [AOR 0.8; 95% CI = 0.65–0.99], availability of latrine [AOR 0.34; 95% CI = 0.27–0.44], age [AOR 0.58; 95% CI = 0.48–0.7], habit of eating raw vegetables [AOR 3.71; 95% CI = 3.01–4.46], and family size [AOR 1.96; 95% CI = 1.57–2.45] were the predictors of intestinal parasitic infection.