A CASE CONTROL STUDY TO IDENTIFY THE RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH DENGUE VIRUS INFECTION IN CHATTOGRAM DISTRICT

Abstract

Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne infectious disease, which is now endemic in Bangladesh. Effective preventive measures are critical for controlling DF in Bangladesh. This study aimed to explore the individual risk factors for the dengue virus infection in Chattogram and to provide a scientific basis for the future prevention and control of DF. A case-control study including 200 cases and 200 controls was performed. The data were collected by using a prototype questionnaire. There were 32 variables in the questionnaire. Out of them 25 were dichotomous and 7 were categorical. The association of a variable with DF was initially assessed by χ2 test. The variables with p≤0.25 after the results of univariable analysis were considered for multivariable logistic regress to see the independence of effects of them. Out of the dichotomous or categorical variables only two variables namely, Age (5 indicator variables generated within the categorical variable Age) and number of people living in a family (2 indicator variables generated within the category) had p<0.25. Among the age indicator variables among the variable Age, people of age of <5 years and 6 to 15 years had a higher frequency (67%) of catching dengue fever, although the association was not statistically significant at p<0.05. Density of people, i.e. number of members living in a family was only other variable with the cutoff p value qualified for the multivariable logistic regression analysis, and the results showed that when a household had members >3 the DF frequency was higher (67%) compared with household of having members <3. However, the results of the multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that the other age indicator variables within the categorical variable Age when compared with the reference indicator variable age 1 to 5 years and household of having >3 members compared with household of having <3 members were neither positively nor negatively associated with DF in the study area. People of all categories, irrespective of age, living area, and socio-economic status were seemingly at an equal risk of catching DF in the study area.