Hygiene Practices Among Young Adolescents Aged 12-15 Years in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Population-Based Study

Abstract

Background Poor personal hygiene increases disease risk,however, the prevalence of hygiene practices among adolescents is poorly described in low- and middle-incomecountries (LMICs). We aimed to assess the hygiene practices among young adolescents in LMICs using data fromthe Global School-based Student Health Surveys (GSHS).Methods This population-based study analysed the GSHSdata for adolescents aged 12-15 years from 75 LMICs. Datawere collected between 2003 and 2015 using standardised,anonymous, self-reported questionnaires. This report focuses on hygiene related behaviours such as tooth brushing,washing hands after using the toilet, washing hands beforeeating and washing hands with soap. The weighted prevalence and 95% confidential intervals (CIs) for the hygienepractices, and overall and regional estimates were calculated with random-effects meta-analysis.Results A total of 181 848 young adolescents from 75LIMCs with available hygiene data were analysed. The overall prevalence for never washing hands were 7.4% (95%confidence interval (CI)=4.4-10.3) for before eating, 5.9%(95% CI=3.8-7.9) for after using the toilet, and 9.0% (95%CI=6.2-11.8) for with soap. For tooth brushing, the overall prevalence estimates were 8.6% (95% CI=5.5-11.7) fornever brushing teeth, 80.9% (95% CI=74.7-87.1) for 1-3times per day, and 9.7% (95% CI=5.8-13.6) for >3 timesper day. However, the prevalence of different hygiene practices varied significantly among countries and regions (allP values <0.001). Poor hygiene status, with a prevalence>20%, was still observed in several LMICs (eg, 12 countriesfor never washing hands and 4 for never brushing teeth).Conclusions The hygiene practices of young adolescentsaged 12-15 years were generally frequent, but poor statuswas still observed in several LMICs. These findings emphases the need for hygiene and health education targetingyoung adolescents in LMICs.