Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation and its association with sociodemographic factors and undernutrition among children aged 6–59 months attending the General Outpatient Clinic, Federal Medical Centre, Bida

Abstract

Background: Intestinal parasitic infestation remains an important public health concern among young children and may adversely affect growth and nutritional status. This study assessed the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation and its association with sociodemographic factors and undernutrition among children aged 6–59 months attending the General Outpatient Clinic (GOPC), Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Bida.

Methods: We conducted a hospital-based cross-sectional study of children aged 6–59 months attending the GOPC at FMC Bida. We initially recruited 178 eligible children; however, five did not provide stool samples and were excluded from parasitological analysis, leaving 173 children for the final analysis. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, child-care practices and household factors were collected using a structured questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements and stool examination were performed. Intestinal parasitic infestation was assessed by stool examination, while nutritional status was assessed using anthropometric indicators. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. Associations between intestinal parasitic infestation and categorical variables were assessed using the chi-square test. Variables significantly associated with infestation at bivariate analysis (p<0.05) were entered into a parsimonious binary logistic regression model. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported.

Results: Intestinal parasitic infestation was detected in 32 of 173 children, giving a prevalence of 18.5%. Infestation was significantly associated with rural residence (27.2% vs 10.9%; p=0.011) and maternal occupation (27.9% among children of civil-servant mothers vs 13.4% among other occupations; p=0.033). In the adjusted analysis, rural residence was associated with higher odds of infestation (AOR=3.83, 95% CI: 1.61–9.10; p=0.002), as was maternal civil-servant occupation (AOR=3.24, 95% CI: 1.41–7.45; p=0.006).

Conclusion: The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation was 18.5% among children aged 6–59 months attending the study facility. Infestation was associated with rural residence and maternal occupation after adjustment, while no statistically significant association was demonstrated with the nutritional indicators assessed. These findings should be interpreted in view of the hospital-based design and relatively small final analytic sample