Disposal of faeces of children under two years old and diarrhoea incidence: a case-control study.

This is a report on the relationship of disposal of faeces of children under two years old and diarrhoeal incidence from a clinic-based case-control study. Based on data on 275 cases and 381 controls recruited from 16 clinics in Metropolitan Cebu in the Philippines over a five-month period, the results showed that unsanitary disposal of young children's stools was associated with a 34% increase (OR = 1.34) in clinically diagnosed diarrhoeas and a 63% increase (OR = 1.63) in pathogen-positive diarrhoeas relative to those who were following sanitary practices. Despite several methodological limitations, the findings suggest that the exposure variable under investigation might be an important risk factor for diarrhoeas. Further studies are indicated because of the value of identifying specific hygiene behaviours related to the transmission of enteric pathogens for purposes of formulating interventions.