Analysis on status of respiratory system diseases among children under 5 years in rural areas of Hubei province

Objective This study was aimed to understand the two-week prevalence rate of respiratory system disease among children under 5 years old in rural areas of Hubei province. Methods 2 330 children under 5 years old were investigated using cluster random sampling method was performed in 8 cities( counties) in rural areas of Hubei. Results The two-week prevalence rate of respiratory system diseases was 19. 39% among children under 5 years in rural areas of Hubei province. There was no significant difference in the two-week prevalence rate between boys( 18. 60%) and girls( 20. 21%). However,there were differences among children with different characteristics. The result showed that the two-week prevalence rate became higher with the increase of age. The two-week prevalence rate was the lowest among infants aged under 6 months,while it was the highest( 25. 50%) among both children aged 12- 23 months and those aged 36- 47months. The two-week prevalence rate was the highest among children from middle-income area,while it was the lowest among those from high-income area,the rate was 36. 09% and 12. 65%,respectively. The result also showed that the two-week prevalence rate among those,whose mother were older than 25 years,when they were born,was higher than those whose mother was younger than 25 years( 21. 91% 17. 82%). Those children whose mother with primary or below primary educational level had the highest rate of 31. 82%,while those whose mother with junior high school education level had the lowest rate( 16. 51%). The two-week prevalence rate was higher among children whose mothers worked far away from home as compared with those whose mothers worked at home( 23. 71% 17. 43%). Further more,it was higher among those who had more than 5 family members,as compared with those who had less than 5 family members( 23. 23% 17. 98%). Children with a family per capita income less than 3 000 yuan over the past year had the highest rate( 28. 62%),and those with a family per capita income,more than 6 000 yuan,had the lowest rate( 17. 59%).Conclusions The two-week prevalence rate of respiratory diseases was high among children under 5 years in rural areas of Hubei province,the age of children,age of mother when the child was born,and mothers' education level,etc,might be the influencing factors.