Diarrhoea in the under-fives in a Saudi semiurban community.

A cross-sectional study of diarrhoea in the under-fives was carried out in a semiurban community in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The aim was to estimate the point and period prevalence and to examine some factors possibly related to the prevalence of diarrhoea. The point and period prevalence of diarrhoea were found to be 5.4% and 12.5% respectively. The presence of diarrhoea was significantly associated with age of child and the type of feeding in children below one year. Factors such as parental age and education and the number of children under five in the household were also found to be significantly associated with diarrhoea. For prevention of diarrhoea the authors recommend the establishment of 'under-fives' clinics and health education programmes to educate mothers on diarrhoea.