Burden of acute infections (except respiratory and diarrheal) and its risk factors among under-five children in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

contextAcute infections of eyes, ears, skin, and others are a common cause of morbidity in under-five children. The overall burden of other infections and their risk factors is not known. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Available literature was searched comprehensively using PubMed for acute infections (except acute respiratory and diarrheal diseases) using the relevant medical subject heading terms. Extracted articles were independently reviewed against inclusion/exclusion criteria and rated for quality. 10 articles were abstracted and reviewed to identify the reported prevalence and risk factors for acute infections among children.

resultsThe pooled prevalence of infections (not including acute respiratory and diarrhea) between 2002 and 2013 was 18.42 (95% confidence interval: 9.30-30.62), with reported range of 3.7-50.8%. The significantly positively associated factors reported in single studies were young age of the child, malnutrition, poor breastfeeding, low socio-economic status, animal rearing near household and mothers' illiteracy for independent morbidities.

conclusionThe evidence on risk factors including breastfeeding, vaccination, age, and sex that predispose under-five Indian children to different infections is inconclusive. There is a need to conduct more studies on acute infections other than acute respiratory and diarrhea, to establish their determinants in Indian children.