Self-Reported Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Determinants of Multiple Parasitic Infection among Schooling Adolescents in Nigeria ()
Affiliation(s)
Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria.
Department of Eco-Epidemiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
Department of Nutrition Sciences, Siebold University, Nagasaki, Japan.
National Mental Support Center for School Crisis, Osaka Kyoiku University, Osaka, Japan.
National Mental Support Center for School Crisis, Osaka Kyoiku University, Osaka, Japan;Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
Background: Despite the rising burden of parasitic infections among young schooling
adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa, insufficient
attention has been paid to school-health. This study examined the self-reported
prevalence of major parasitic infections and its association with key socio-demographic
factors among young schooling adolescents in Southern Nigeria. Methods: An interviewer-administered school-based survey of students
attending schools in Southern Nigeria was conducted in 2013. The study sample
involved 585 students (60.9% male, 39.2% female and overall mean age of 15
years). The outcome variable was the self-reported presence of parasitic infection
suffered within the past twelve months. The exposure variables were socio-demographic characteristics: age, sex,
geolocality, school ownership, parents’ level of education and occupation. Association between the number of parasitic infections and socio-demographic factors were examined,
and multivariate logistic regression was used to determine socio-demographic
factors predictive of the presence of parasitic infections. Results: The most
prevalent parasitic diseases reported across the sample were malaria (46.9%)
and helminthiasis (27.7%). Over a quarter (38.5%) had one infectious disease,
while about half (40.3%) reported had more than two infectious diseases. In the study sample, the number of
parasitic diseases differed significantly by sex (p = 0.0344), age (p = 0.0483), geolocality (p = 0.0001), school ownership
(p = 0.0012) and parents’
occupation (p = 0.0199). Multivariate
logistic regression analysis showed that attending private school was negatively
associated with the presence of parasitic diseases (β = ?0.9129, p = 0.0022). Conclusion: The
high prevalence of multiple parasitic
infections among the study population is worrisome and should be considered as a school-health concern. Concerted efforts are highly needed to develop
school-health intervention programs for addressing the high prevalence of parasitic
infection among students. Such programs should be
tailored for specific socio-demographic groups. Although there was strong
proportionality between self-reported symptoms and parasitic diseases reported,
laboratory-based investigation is needed to validate our findings.
Share and Cite:
Nmor, J. , Nmor, J. , Omah, P. , Kehi, N. , Goto, K. , Toyosawa, J. and Fujita, D. (2014) Self-Reported Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Determinants of Multiple Parasitic Infection among Schooling Adolescents in Nigeria.
Advances in Infectious Diseases,
4, 8-17. doi:
10.4236/aid.2014.41002.