Prevalence of oxyuriasis and some related factors in kindergarten and primary school children in urban areas of Semnan province (2005)

Introduction: Oxyuriasis is one of the most common infections among children in developed and developing countries. The current study was performed to determine the prevalence of oxyuriasis (Entrobiasis) and related factors in children aged kindergarten and primary school in urban areas of Semnan province. Material & Methods: In this cross–sectional study, 688 students were selected by stratified– random sampling and a scotch test was prepared from each student. In addition, other data were collected through questionnaire. Data analyzing was carried out by Chi-Square test and logistic regression. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Prevalence of oxyuriasis among children was 12.5 % (8.1% in kindergarten children and 13.4% in primary school children). The prevalence of Oxyuriasis was significantly difference in various cities of Semnan province educated students in Damghan were in higher risk than other cities (OR = 2.47, % 95 CI: 1.26– 4.87). In addition, the students whose their mothers were illiterate or low education were exposed to higher risk compared to those students whose motherۥ s education were at secondry or high school level(OR = 0.49 , % 95 CI : 0.29 – 0.84 ) Furthermore, infrequent hand washing after toilet increased the risk of infection (OR = 1.94, % 95 CI: 1.15 – 3.26). The risk of infection was higher among the students who had tiredness feeling in comparison with those students did not show this symptom (OR = 2.61, % 95 CI: 1.30 – 5.25). Moreover, the results showed that a previous history of oxyuriasis increases the risk of future infections (OR=2.73, % 95 CI: 1.58– 4.71). Conclusion: These findings emphasized that personal hygiene education in mothers, especially for illiterate or low educated mothers, is necessary. It is obvious that a continuous education should be given to mothers until they achieve an appropriate level of education. This approach has more priority in Damghan.