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Volume 29, Number 5—May 2023
Research

Environmental, Occupational, and Demographic Risk Factors for Clinical Scrub Typhus, Bhutan

Tandin ZangpoComments to Author , Yoenten Phuentshok, Kezang Dorji, Chencho Dorjee, Sithar Dorjee, Peter Jolly, Roger Morris, Nelly Marquetoux, and Joanna McKenzie
Author affiliations: Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan, Thimphu, Bhutan (T. Zangpo, Y. Phuentshok, K. Dorji, C. Dorjee, S. Dorjee); Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand (T. Zangpo, Y. Phuentshok, K. Dorji, P. Jolly, N. Marquetoux, J. McKenzie); Ministry of Health, Thimphu (T. Zangpo, K. Dorji); World Organisation for Animal Health, Paris, France (Y. Phuentshok); Morvet Ltd, Masterton, New Zealand (R. Morris)

Main Article

Table 2

Variables that had a χ2 p value <0.2 in conditional univariable analysis that were considered for the final multivariable model in a study of risk factors for clinical scrub typhus, Bhutan, 2015

Variable* Odds ratio Wald p value χ2 p value Multivariable model
Demographic variables
Age (continuous) 0.98 0.020 0.016 †
Female sex (reference: male) 0.59 0.059 0.057
Occupation (reference: farmer) <0.001
Housewife 0.32 0.086
Civil servant/military 0.31 0.209
Corporate/private business 0.86 0.848
Preschool/student 4.79 0.002
Monk/nun 6.09 0.145
Construction worker 0.26 0.235
Rural residence (reference: urban)
 4.00
 0.092
 0.063
House-related variables
Traditional house (reference: modern) 3.03 0.006 0.004 †
Shower located outside (reference: inside) 2.35 0.007 0.007 †
Toilet located outside (reference: inside) 5.21 0.032 0.011
Flooring of mud/clay (reference: no) 2.08 0.079 0.075
Water supply from a stream (reference: no) 4.59 0.070 0.053
Water supply community pipe (reference: no) 0.54 0.150 0.149
Water supply private pipe (reference: no) 1.77 0.162 0.159
Saw rodents in house (reference: no)
 3.02
 0.017
 0.009
Animal ownership
Possessed a cat (reference: no) 1.53 0.171 0.168
Possessed poultry (reference: no) 1.78 0.081 0.077
Possessed a goat (reference: no)
 2.77
 0.023
 0.019
 †
Protective measures
Wore footwear outdoors (reference: never) 0.060 †
Sometimes (occasionally and most of the time) 5.55 0.047
Always
 3.17
 0.159
Used insect repellent on clothes occasionally (reference: never)
 0.22
 0.179
 0.128
Bitten by ticks or fleas (reference: no)
 1.57
 0.165
 0.163
Cultivation-related exposures
Harvested cardamom (reference: no) 4.15 0.007 0.004 †
Harvested vegetables (reference: no) 0.27 0.004 0.002 †
Worked in vegetable garden (reference: no) 0.42 0.009 0.006
Worked in mixed crop fields (reference: no) 0.26 0.096 0.066
Worked in rice paddy (reference: no) 1.79 0.194 0.189
Worked in an orchard (reference: no)
 2.15
 0.124
 0.120
Forest-related exposures
Household children <12 y of age played in the bush (reference: never) 0.045
Occasionally 8.04 0.214
Daily 4.07 0.302
Did not have children <12 y of age 1.28 0.842
Collected forest products (reference: no) 2.39 0.086 0.086
Visited forest for any reason (reference: no) 1.71 0.096 0.089
Undertook reafforestation work (reference: no) 2.64 0.122 0.110
Cleared scrub for others as a job (reference: no) 1.63 0.125 0.123
Herded cattle in the forest (reference: no)
 0.47
 0.080
 0.068
 †
Other outdoor exposures
Sat or slept on grass (reference: never) 0.053 †
1–5 times 1.69 0.185
6–10 times 2.74 0.066
>10 times 3.29 0.011

*Exposure variables related to a period of 1 mo before patients’ recruitment at healthcare center. †Significant (p<0.05) in the multivariable model.

Main Article

Page created: February 24, 2023
Page updated: April 18, 2023
Page reviewed: April 18, 2023
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