Prevalence of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) and Its Different Correlates among Under-five Children of a Slum of Kolkata

Abstract

Background: ARI is a major cause of morbidity and mortality of the most vulnerable age group; the under-fives. Previous studies had already identified different risk factors of ARI in slums; however, the findings are hard to generalize as there is diversity among slum populations. Moreover Kolkata (M Corp.) has second highest proportion (29.6%) of slum households among million plus cities in India which necessitates studying the ARI morbidity among under-fives of slums of Kolkata. Objective: To find out the prevalence of ARI and its different correlates among under-fives of a slum of Kolkata. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the month of May, 2015 among under-fives of the Bagbazar slum area of Kolkata. Total enumeration of under-five children residing in the selected slum was done and sample size came to 68. Data were collected by house to house visit. Chi-square test was applied for statistical significance. Results: Prevalence of ARI was 66.2% among the under-five children studied. Prevalence was higher for males (74.4%). Highest prevalence (100%) was noted among infants. Ventilation, over-crowding, type of family, parenteral smoking, type of cooking fuel used, location of kitchen and presence of symptoms of ARI among mothers were found to be significantly associated with ARI among under-fives (p <0.05). Conclusion: The present study showed a very high prevalence of ARI among under-five children of Bagbazar slum area and also identified many correlates of such a high prevalence.