Social and housing indicators of dengue and chikungunya in Indian adults aged 45 and above: Analysis of a nationally representative survey (2017-18)

Winnie Paulson; Naveen Kumar Kodali; Karuppusamy Balasubramani; Rashi Dixit; Savitha Chellappan; Sujit Kumar Behera; Praveen Balabaskaran Nina

doi:10.1186/s13690-022-00868-5

Social and housing indicators of dengue and chikungunya in Indian adults aged 45 and above: Analysis of a nationally representative survey (2017-18)

Arch Public Health. 2022 Apr 20;80(1):125. doi: 10.1186/s13690-022-00868-5.

Authors

Winnie Paulson¹, Naveen Kumar Kodali¹, Karuppusamy Balasubramani², Rashi Dixit¹, Savitha Chellappan³, Sujit Kumar Behera¹, Praveen Balabaskaran Nina⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Tiruvarur, India.
² Department of Geography, School of Earth Sciences, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Tiruvarur, India.
³ Indian Council of Medical Research- National Institute of Traditional Medicine, Belagavi, India.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Tiruvarur, India. praveen@cutn.ac.in.

Abstract

Background: Dengue and chikungunya (CHIKV) are the two major vector-borne diseases of serious public health concern in India. Studies on socioeconomic and housing determinants of dengue and CHIKV at a pan-India level are lacking. Here, we took advantage of the recently carried out Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) carried out across all the states and Union Territories of India to study the social indicators of dengue and CHIKV in India.

Methods: LASI-1 (2017-2018) data on the self-reported period prevalence of dengue and CHIKV from 70,932 respondents aged ≥45 years were used for this analysis. The state-wise distribution of dengue and CHIKV was mapped. Prevalence was estimated for each study variable, and the difference was compared using the χ2 test. The adjusted odds ratios (AOR) of the socioeconomic and housing variables for dengue and CHIKV were estimated using the multiple logistic regression model.

Results: Urban residence is the major socio-economic indicator of dengue and CHIKV (dengue AOR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.18-2.11; CHIKV AOR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.36-2.49). The other notable indicator is wealth; rich respondents have higher odds of dengue and CHIKV. Adults older than 54 years and those with high school education and above are associated with a lower likelihood of dengue and CHIKV. In addition, CHIKV is associated with scheduled and forward castes, households with improper toilet facilities, open defecation, and kutcha house type.

Conclusions: Despite the limitation that the data is only from adults ≥ 45, this analysis provides important insights into the socioeconomic and housing variables associated with higher odds of dengue and CHIKV in India. Understanding these determinants may assist in the national planning of prevention and control strategies for dengue and CHIKV.

Keywords: LASI; Risk factors of dengue and chikungunya; Social determinants of chikungunya; Social determinants of dengue.