A Cross Sectional Study on Prevalence of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) in Under-Five Children of Meerut District, India

Abstract

Background: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in under-five children worldwide. On an average, children below 5 years of age suffer about 5 episodes of ARI per child per year, thus accounting for about 238 million attacks and about 13 million deaths every year in the world. Identification of modifiable risk factors of ARI may help in reducing the burden of disease. Objective: To study the social demographic factors and prevalence of ARI in under five children living in urban and rural area of Meerut district. Materials and methods: A cross sectional study covering 450 under-five children living in urban and rural area of Meerut district from October 2011 to March 2012. Results: Prevalence of ARI was found to be 52%. It was higher in children with lower socioeconomic status (35.89%), illiterate mother (49.14%), overcrowded conditions (70.94%), inadequate ventilation (74.35%), and use of smoky chullah (56.83%), malnutrition (26.49) and parental smoking (78.20%). Conclusion: The present study found that low socioeconomic status, maternal illiteracy, poor nutritional status, overcrowding, indoor air pollution and parental smoking behavior were the significant social and demographic risk factors responsible for ARI in under-five children. These observations emphasize the need for research aimed at health system to determine the most appropriate approaches to control acute respiratory infection and thus could be utilized to strengthen the ARI control programme.