Volume 18, Number 9—September 2012
Dispatch
Infectious Diseases in Children and Body Mass Index in Young Adults
, Catherine Ley, and Julie Parsonnet
Table 1
Distribution of demographic characteristics, infectious disease incidence, and exposure variables during childhood and their association with being overweight in young adulthood, the Philippines, 1983–2005*†
| Variable | Overall | Not overweight, <23 kg/m2 | Overweight, >23 kg/m2 | p value‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) participants | 1,863 | 1,520 (81.6) | 343 (18.4) | |
| Adult BMI, kg/m2 | ||||
|
Mean |
20.73 | |||
|
Median |
20.16 | |||
|
25th–75th percentile |
18.7–22.2 | |||
|
Range |
13.9–41.2 | |||
| No. assessment visits performed during child’s first 24 mo of life | ||||
|
Mean |
11.52 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 0.34 |
|
Median |
12 | 12 | 12 | |
|
25th–75th percentile |
12–12 | 12–12 | 12–12 | |
|
Range, no. (%) |
12–1 | 12–1 | 12–1 | |
|
10–12 |
1,748 (93.8) | 1,427 (93.9) | 321 (93.6) | 0.84 |
|
1–9 |
115 (6.2) | 93 (6.1) | 22 (6.4) | |
| Proportion of visits with current fever§ | ||||
|
Mean |
0.07 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.57 |
|
Median |
0.08 | 0.08 | 0.08 | |
|
25th–75th percentile |
0–0.08 | 0–0.08 | 0–0.83 | |
|
Range percentile, no. (%) |
0–0.70 | 0–0.70 | 0–0.33 | |
|
0–19 |
1,721 (92.4) | 1,405 (92.4) | 316 (92.1) | 0.03¶ |
|
20–39 |
137 (7.4) | 110 (7.2) | 27 (7.9) | |
|
40–59 |
4 (0.2) | 4 (0.3) | 0 | |
|
60–79 |
1 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | 0 | |
|
80–100 |
0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Proportion of visits with reported URI§ | ||||
|
Mean |
0.72 | 0.72 | 0.74 | 0.05 |
|
Median |
0.75 | 0.75 | 0.75 | |
|
25th–75th percentile |
0.58–0.88 | 0.58–0.88 | ||
|
Range percentile, no. (%) |
0–1 | 0–1 | ||
|
0–19 |
24 (1.3) | 21 (1.4) | 3 (0.9) | 0.26 |
|
20–39 |
78 (4.2) | 68 (4.5) | 10 (2.9) | |
|
40–59 |
426 (22.9) | 358 (23.6) | 68 (19.8) | |
|
60–79 |
553 (29.7) | 447 (29.4) | 106 (30.9) | |
|
80–100 |
782 (42.0) | 626 (41.2) | 156 (45.5) | |
| Proportion of visits with reported diarrhea§ | ||||
|
Mean |
0.19 | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.84 |
|
Median |
0.17 | 0.17 | 0.17 | |
|
25th–75th percentile |
0–0.25 | 0.08–0.25 | 0.83–0.25 | |
|
Range percentile, no. (%) |
0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0.67 | |
|
0–19 |
1,135 (61.0) | 928 (61.1) | 207 (60.3) | <0.001¶ |
|
20–39 |
507 (27.2) | 416 (27.4) | 91 (26.5) | |
|
40–59 |
200 (10.7) | 160 (10.5) | 40 (11.7) | |
|
60–79 |
17 (0.9) | 12 (0.8) | 5 (1.5) | |
|
80–100 |
4 (0.2) | 4 (0.3) | 0 | |
| Duration of diarrhea, d§ | ||||
|
Mean |
3.42 | 3.39 | 3.58 | 0.69 |
|
Median |
2.00 | 2.0 | 2.0 | |
|
25th–75th percentile |
0–5 | 0–5 | 0–6 | |
|
Range |
0–24 | 0–24 | 0–21 | |
| Proportion of visits when child was crawling in unsanitary conditions | ||||
|
Mean |
0.33 | 0.34 | 0.31 | 0.13 |
|
Median |
0.27 | 0.33 | 0.25 | |
|
25–75% |
0.08–0.56 | 0.08–0.58 | 0.08–0.50 | |
|
Range |
0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0.92 | |
| Male sex, no. (%) | 980 (52.6) | 789 (51.9) | 191 (55.7) | 0.14 |
| Highest grade attained, y | ||||
|
Mean |
10.41 | 10.34 | 10.68 | 0.21 |
|
Median |
11.00 | 11 | 11 | |
|
25–75% |
9–12 | 9–12 | 9–12 | |
|
Range |
0–16 | 0–16 | 16–1 | |
| Birth weight, kg | ||||
|
Mean |
3.04 | 3.04 | 3.09 | 0.18 |
|
Median |
3.00 | 3.00 | 3.06 | |
|
25th–75th percentile |
2.72–3.31 | 2.72–3.32 | 2.78–3.36 | |
|
Range |
0.91–5.21 | 0.91–5.22 | 1.96–4.80 | |
| BMI at age 24 mo | ||||
|
Mean |
15.58 | 15.51 | 15.89 | <0.001 |
|
Median |
15.54 | 15.48 | 15.94 | |
|
25th–75th percentile |
14.78–16.36 | 14.73–16.28 | 15.09–16.64 | |
|
Range |
11.99–20.62 | 11.99–19.92 | 12.28–20.62 | |
| Persons per room | ||||
|
Mean |
2.53 | 2.52 | 2.45 | 0.15 |
|
Median |
2.00 | 2.0 | 2.0 | |
|
25th–75th percentile |
2.49–3.31 | 1.50–3.00 | 1.40–3.00 | |
|
Range |
0.90–5.21 | 0.33–13.00 | 0.33–10.00 | |
| Mother’s schooling or training, y§ | ||||
|
Mean |
7.49 | 7.26 | 8.50 | <0.001 |
|
Median |
6.00 | 6.00 | 8.00 | |
|
25–75% |
5.00–10.00 | 5–10 | 6–11 | |
|
Range |
0–19 | 0–18 | 0–19 | |
| Feces observed around the home, no. (%) | 902 (48.4) | 735 (48.4) | 167 (48.7) | 0.96 |
| Covered source of water, no. (%) | 1,549 (83.1) | 1,242 (81.7) | 307 (89.5) | <0.001 |
| Flush toilet, no. (%) | 97 (5.2) | 73 (4.8) | 24 (7.0) | 0.11 |
*BMI, body mass index; URI, upper respiratory infection. Blank spaces indicate not applicable.
†The young adults were ≈22 y.
‡Test of proportions or of medians, comparing groups that were not overweight and those that were overweight.
§The correlation between the number and the proportion of visits for each symptom was high (coefficient range: 0.86 [URI] to 0.99 [fever, ear discharge]). The correlation between proportion of visits when child had reported fever, URI, and/or diarrhea was moderate (coefficient range: 0.17–0.25). The correlation between the proportion of visits when diarrhea was reported and the number of reported days with diarrhea was high (r = 0.73). Maternal educational level was not well correlated with child’s reported fever, URI, or diarrhea (coefficient range: –0.07 to –0.11).
¶Fisher exact test.