Clinical, Sociodemographic and Environmental Risk Factors for Acute Bacterial Diarrhea among Adults and Children over Five Years in Bangladesh

In 2016, diarrheal disease was the eighth leading cause of mortality globally accounting for over 1.6 million deaths with the majority of deaths in adults and children over 5 years. This study aims to investigate the clinical, sociodemographic, and environmental risk factors associated with common bacterial acute diarrhea among adults and children over 5. Data were collected from March 2019 to March 2020 in patients over 5 years presenting with acute gastroenteritis at icddr,b. Stool samples were collected from each patient for culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Bivariate associations between independent variables and stool-testing indicating bacterial etiology were calculated. This analysis included 2,133 diarrheal patients of whom a bacterial enteropathogen was identified in 1,537 (72%). Detection of bacteria was associated with: younger age (OR 0.92; 95% CI: 0.88–0.96), lower mean arterial pressure (OR 0.84; 95% CI: 0.79–0.89), heart rate (OR 1.06; 95% CI: 1.01–1.10), percentage dehydration (OR 1.33; 95% CI: 1.13–1.55), respiration rate (OR 1.23; 95% CI: 1.04–1.46), lower mid-upper arm circumference (OR 0.97; 95% CI: 0.94–0.99), confused/lethargic mental status (OR 1.85; 95% CI: 1.11–3.25), rice watery stool (OR 1.92; 95% CI: 1.54–2.41), and vomiting more than three times in the past 24 hours (OR 1.30; 95% CI: 1.06–1.58). Higher monthly income (OR 0.92; 95% CI: 0.86–0.98), > 8 years of education (OR 0.79; 95% CI: 0.63–1.00), and having more than five people living at home (OR 0.80; 95% CI: 0.66–0.98) were associated with lower odds of bacterial diarrhea. These findings may help guide the development of predictive tools to aid in identifying patients with bacterial diarrhea for timely and appropriate use of antibiotics.