title: Assessment of frequency of diarrhoea in relation to drinking water among residents of Nurpur Shahan, Pakistan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the source of drinking water and to assess its relationship with the frequency of diarrhoea among households of Nurpur Shahan.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in January 2010 with a preformed questionnaire. Systematic random sampling was used to collect data. Participants' consent was obtained and confidentiality was maintained during the survey and during analysis. Households were evaluated for the frequency of diarrhoea in relation to their water source, its purification, and availability of sanitation facilities. All collected data was analyzed using SPSS 10.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 107 households surveyed, 2.8% used wells, 63% used tap water and 32.7% used hand pumps, whereas only 0.9% consumed store-bought water as their major source of drinking water. The difference in the frequency of diarrhoea between those households who purified their water and those that did not was just 1%. The relationship between the source of drinking water and the frequency of diarrhoea was not statistically significant (p = 0.319). Surprisingly households with no disposal facilities only had a 20% frequency of diarrhoea; this was found to be statistically significant (p = 0.023).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study contradicts the general conception that water supply is responsible for diarrhoea in the locality of Nurpur Shahan; it was found that the statistical difference between diarrhoea resulting from purified and non purified water was very small (p-value=0.587). Rather, improper sanitation and poor personal hygiene seem largely responsible for diarrhoea in this rural Islamabad community.
authors.affiliation: Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad.
authors.forename: Zainab Masroor
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Kakakhel
authors.forename: Somabia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ibrar
authors.forename: Wasim Alam
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Hajera
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bibi
authors.forename: Syed Ahmed
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Zamir
authors.forename: Shafin Sohail
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Shabaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Sohrab
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Wasif
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tariq
authors.forename: M Hassan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Tahir
authors.forename: Saima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iqbal
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology*; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014881:Water Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water