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- Title
Association of personal hygiene with common morbidities among upper primary school children in rural Odisha.
- Authors
Paul, Kalyan Kumar; Panigrahi, Sandeep Kumar; Reddy, Arun Kiran Soodi; Sahu, Trilochan
- Abstract
Context: In India, children of upper primary school receive less attention from health-care providers. The majority of their health problems are preventable through hygienic practices. Aims: The aim of this study was to find out the association of personal hygiene with common morbidities among upper primary school children. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study conducted in a rural upper primary school of Odisha. Subjects and Methods: A semi-structured schedule based on the Global School Health Survey Questionnaire and necessary instruments for clinical examination were used. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were entered in Microsoft Excel 2007 and analyzed by SPSS version 20 software. Results: Of 90 participants, 58 (64.4%) were girls. The mean age was 11.8 (±1.01) years. The mean body mass index of females was significantly higher than males (16.95 vs. 14.72; P = 0.001). More than 90% of children maintained good personal hygiene such as clean tongue, clean hair, handwashing, and using footwear. The most common morbidities found were dental caries (38.9%), history of worms in stool and lethargy (20%). A mean score of 6.14 ± 0.11 (out of 8) was seen for personal hygiene and not associated with any particular morbidity or gender. Brushing daily was significantly associated with reduced dental caries (χ² = 8.7; P < 0.005) and foul-smelling breath (χ² = 4.93; P < 0.05). Fungal infections were significantly less in children who bathed daily (χ² = 28.7; <0.005) and wore clean clothes (χ² = 5.06; P < 0.05). Conclusion: Dental caries, foul-smelling breath, and fungal infections were significantly associated with poor personal hygiene. School health services should also focus on upper primary school children for improvement of personal hygiene.
- Subjects
INDIA; CHILDREN'S health; SCHOOL children; MEDICAL care; COMORBIDITY; HYGIENE; BODY mass index
- Publication
Journal of Family Medicine & Primary Care, 2017, Vol 6, Issue 3, p509
- ISSN
2249-4863
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.4103/2249-4863.222039