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Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Disease and Its Associated Risk Factors in Sikkim and Darjeeling Districts

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Abstract

The gastrointestinal disease accounts for a large number of deaths in several parts of the world. Gastrointestinal infection has been an emerging problem in Sikkim and Darjeeling District and also in other parts of our country. To study the prevalence and to explore the risk factors associated with gastrointestinal diseases in Sikkim and Darjeeling District. The present study is the population based descriptive type cross sectional study. The study design was based on random selection among 100 individuals from different areas of Sikkim and Darjeeling district of West Bengal. Questionnaire based anonymous feedback system was followed to collect the data. The data were analyzed using statistical tool and the relative risk was calculated. Total 65 (65 %) cases of gastrointestinal disease were found in 100 individuals out of which 24 were males and 41 were females. Cases of diarrhea, gastroenteritis, dysentery, food poisoning, amoebiosis and enterocolitis was 34, 18, 3, 3, 1 and 0 % respectively. The statistical analysis reveals that a gastrointestinal disease is more prevalent in females as compared to males and in the age group between 15 and 25 years. The various associated risk factors for gastrointestinal disease which was observed during the study were frequency of diet, diet type, consumption of spicy food, fermented food, smoking, consumption of alcohol, consumption of fruits available in market and an inappropriate sanitary condition.

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Acknowledgments

Authors are thankful to Mr. Ishfaq Nabi for helping in data analysis. Authors are also grateful to all the participants for providing valuable information and time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Sikkim University, Gangtok, Sikkim, India

    Varsha Rani Gajamer & Hare Krishna Tiwari

Authors
  1. Varsha Rani Gajamer
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  2. Hare Krishna Tiwari
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Correspondence to Varsha Rani Gajamer.

Appendix: Questionnaire Based Feedback Form for the Study of Human Gastrointestinal Pathogens from Sikkim & North Bengal

Appendix: Questionnaire Based Feedback Form for the Study of Human Gastrointestinal Pathogens from Sikkim & North Bengal

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Gajamer, V.R., Tiwari, H.K. Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Disease and Its Associated Risk Factors in Sikkim and Darjeeling Districts. J Community Health 39, 767–774 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9826-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9826-x

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