Hand-Washing: The Main Strategy for Avoiding Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.
Epidemics of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) among children have caused concern in China since 2007. We have conducted a retrospective study to investigate risk factors associated with HFMD. In this non-matching case-control study, 99 HFMD patients and 126 control from Guangdong Province were enlisted as participants. Data comprising demographic, socio-economic, clinical and behavior factors were collected from children's parents through face-to-face interviews by trained interviewers using a standardized questionnaire. Results of the primary logistic regression analyses revealed that age, history of cold food consumption, hand-washing routines, and airing out bedding were significantly associated with HFMD cases. Results of further multivariate analysis indicated that older age (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.34-0.56) and hand-washing before meals (OR = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.13-0.70) are protective factors, whereas airing out bedding more than thrice a month (OR = 4.55, 95% CI: 1.19-17.37) was associated with increased risk for HFMD. Therefore, hand-washing should be recommended to prevent HFMD, and the potential threat of airing out bedding should be carefully considered. However, further studies are needed to examine other possible risk factors.
School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. zhdingm@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
Dingmei
D
Zhang
School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. lizhiyuan@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
Zhiyuan
Z
Li
School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. zhangwj35@mail2.sysu.edu.cn.
Wangjian
W
Zhang
School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. guopi.01@163.com.
Pi
P
Guo
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Yuebei People's Hospital, Shaoguan 512026, China. mazhanzhong816@163.com.
Zhanzhong
Z
Ma
Department of Prevention and Health Care, Shijie Hospital of Dongguan, Dongguan 523290, China. chendu168@163.com.
Qian
Q
Chen
Department of Prevention and Health Care, Shijie Hospital of Dongguan, Dongguan 523290, China. berrydudu@163.com.
Shaokun
S
Du
Baoan Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518101, China. pj077@163.com.
Jing
J
Peng
School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. dengyu9@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
Yu
Y
Deng
School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. haoyt@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
Yuantao
Y
Hao
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006232:Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
case-control study; children; hand, foot and mouth disease; hand-washing; risk factors