MATERNAL EDUCATION AND FAMILY INCOME AS DETERMINANTS OF SEVERE DISEASE FOLLOWING ACUTE DIARRHEA IN CHILDREN - A CASE-CONTROL STUDY

In a case-control study among the urban poor of Dhaka, Bangladesh, the association of maternal education and family income with severity of disease due to diarrhoea in children was examined. After adjusting for family income, 7 or more years of school education was associated wit h 54% reduced risk of severe disease as indicated by the presence of d ehydration. Income in the uppermost quartile of this population, indep endently of maternal education, was associated with 41% reduced risk o f severe disease compared to the lowest quartile. In the logistic regr ession model the effect of maternal education remained high after adju stment for several confounders. Based on the concept that socioeconomi c variables operate through a set of proximate variables it is contend ed that maternal education, independently of economic power, through i ts impact on disease from acute diarrhoea, favourably influences child survival.