Meteorological factors association with under-five children diarrhea incidence in central Gondar zone, Northwest Ethiopia. A time series study

Abstract Background Under 5 children diarrhea has been one of the major public health concerns in countries with limited resources such as Ethiopia. Understanding the association between under-5 diarrhea and meteorological factors will contribute to safeguarding children from adverse health effects...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gelila Yitageasu, Hailemariam Feleke, Zewudu Andualem, Lidetu Demoze, Kidist Asrat, Zemichael Gizaw
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-05-01
Series:BMC Research Notes
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07270-8
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850190473509994496
author Gelila Yitageasu
Hailemariam Feleke
Zewudu Andualem
Lidetu Demoze
Kidist Asrat
Zemichael Gizaw
author_facet Gelila Yitageasu
Hailemariam Feleke
Zewudu Andualem
Lidetu Demoze
Kidist Asrat
Zemichael Gizaw
author_sort Gelila Yitageasu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Under 5 children diarrhea has been one of the major public health concerns in countries with limited resources such as Ethiopia. Understanding the association between under-5 diarrhea and meteorological factors will contribute to safeguarding children from adverse health effects through early warning mechanisms. Thus, this study aimed to explore the association between under-5 diarrhea and meteorological factors to reduce health risks. Methods A time-series ecological study was used to explore the association between meteorological factors and under-5 diarrhea incidence. Spearman’s correlation was computed to test the correlation and a negative binomial regression model was fitted to determine the associations of meteorological factors with under-5 diarrhea incidence. The multicollinearity was checked using the variance inflation factor (VIF) before the multivariable regression analysis and the value was 5. aIRRs with 95% CIs and a significance level of 0.05 were used for all the statistical tests. Statistical analyses were conducted using STATA 14.2 software. Results The highest under-5 diarrhea incidence morbidities was 180.9 per 1000 per year for under-five children. This study revealed a positive and negative correlation between the count of under-5 diarrhea and average monthly temperature and rainfall at 0 and 2 lag months with RRs of 1.0209 (95% CI: 1.0034–1.0387), RR 1.0202(95% CI:1.0022–1.0385), RR 0.999(95% CI:0.9985–0.9996), and RR 0.9992(95% CI:0.9987–0.9997) respectively. Conclusion There was an association between under 5 diarrhea incidence and meteorological factors in the Central Gondar Zone. The mean monthly temperature and rainfall were positively and negatively related to the incidence of diarrhea in children under 5 years old. The results showed that the observed association between meteorological factors and under-5 diarrhea incidence could be used as evidence for the use of early warning systems for the prevention of childhood diarrhea.
format Article
id doaj-art-46bb306db91e4c418276ced4efffa861
institution OA Journals
issn 1756-0500
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Research Notes
spelling doaj-art-46bb306db91e4c418276ced4efffa8612025-08-20T02:15:16ZengBMCBMC Research Notes1756-05002025-05-0118111210.1186/s13104-025-07270-8Meteorological factors association with under-five children diarrhea incidence in central Gondar zone, Northwest Ethiopia. A time series studyGelila Yitageasu0Hailemariam Feleke1Zewudu Andualem2Lidetu Demoze3Kidist Asrat4Zemichael Gizaw5Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of GondarDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of GondarDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of GondarDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of GondarDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of GondarDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of GondarAbstract Background Under 5 children diarrhea has been one of the major public health concerns in countries with limited resources such as Ethiopia. Understanding the association between under-5 diarrhea and meteorological factors will contribute to safeguarding children from adverse health effects through early warning mechanisms. Thus, this study aimed to explore the association between under-5 diarrhea and meteorological factors to reduce health risks. Methods A time-series ecological study was used to explore the association between meteorological factors and under-5 diarrhea incidence. Spearman’s correlation was computed to test the correlation and a negative binomial regression model was fitted to determine the associations of meteorological factors with under-5 diarrhea incidence. The multicollinearity was checked using the variance inflation factor (VIF) before the multivariable regression analysis and the value was 5. aIRRs with 95% CIs and a significance level of 0.05 were used for all the statistical tests. Statistical analyses were conducted using STATA 14.2 software. Results The highest under-5 diarrhea incidence morbidities was 180.9 per 1000 per year for under-five children. This study revealed a positive and negative correlation between the count of under-5 diarrhea and average monthly temperature and rainfall at 0 and 2 lag months with RRs of 1.0209 (95% CI: 1.0034–1.0387), RR 1.0202(95% CI:1.0022–1.0385), RR 0.999(95% CI:0.9985–0.9996), and RR 0.9992(95% CI:0.9987–0.9997) respectively. Conclusion There was an association between under 5 diarrhea incidence and meteorological factors in the Central Gondar Zone. The mean monthly temperature and rainfall were positively and negatively related to the incidence of diarrhea in children under 5 years old. The results showed that the observed association between meteorological factors and under-5 diarrhea incidence could be used as evidence for the use of early warning systems for the prevention of childhood diarrhea.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07270-8Diarrhea incidenceUnder-5 childrenMeteorological factorsCorrelationEthiopia
spellingShingle Gelila Yitageasu
Hailemariam Feleke
Zewudu Andualem
Lidetu Demoze
Kidist Asrat
Zemichael Gizaw
Meteorological factors association with under-five children diarrhea incidence in central Gondar zone, Northwest Ethiopia. A time series study
BMC Research Notes
Diarrhea incidence
Under-5 children
Meteorological factors
Correlation
Ethiopia
title Meteorological factors association with under-five children diarrhea incidence in central Gondar zone, Northwest Ethiopia. A time series study
title_full Meteorological factors association with under-five children diarrhea incidence in central Gondar zone, Northwest Ethiopia. A time series study
title_fullStr Meteorological factors association with under-five children diarrhea incidence in central Gondar zone, Northwest Ethiopia. A time series study
title_full_unstemmed Meteorological factors association with under-five children diarrhea incidence in central Gondar zone, Northwest Ethiopia. A time series study
title_short Meteorological factors association with under-five children diarrhea incidence in central Gondar zone, Northwest Ethiopia. A time series study
title_sort meteorological factors association with under five children diarrhea incidence in central gondar zone northwest ethiopia a time series study
topic Diarrhea incidence
Under-5 children
Meteorological factors
Correlation
Ethiopia
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07270-8
work_keys_str_mv AT gelilayitageasu meteorologicalfactorsassociationwithunderfivechildrendiarrheaincidenceincentralgondarzonenorthwestethiopiaatimeseriesstudy
AT hailemariamfeleke meteorologicalfactorsassociationwithunderfivechildrendiarrheaincidenceincentralgondarzonenorthwestethiopiaatimeseriesstudy
AT zewuduandualem meteorologicalfactorsassociationwithunderfivechildrendiarrheaincidenceincentralgondarzonenorthwestethiopiaatimeseriesstudy
AT lidetudemoze meteorologicalfactorsassociationwithunderfivechildrendiarrheaincidenceincentralgondarzonenorthwestethiopiaatimeseriesstudy
AT kidistasrat meteorologicalfactorsassociationwithunderfivechildrendiarrheaincidenceincentralgondarzonenorthwestethiopiaatimeseriesstudy
AT zemichaelgizaw meteorologicalfactorsassociationwithunderfivechildrendiarrheaincidenceincentralgondarzonenorthwestethiopiaatimeseriesstudy