Assessment of behavioral risk factors for dengue: A Case-Control study from Pune

Abstract

Introduction: Dengue cases continue to be reported every year in India despite various measures being taken for the prevention. In the absence of an effective vaccine and a specific treatment, protective behavior at individual level is of paramount importance. This case-control study was undertaken to find the association of some important behavioral risk factors with dengue fever. Methods: The study included all consecutive patients of dengue fever >15 years of age visiting a tertiary care hospital in Pune during 2018 confirmed by laboratory investigation as cases. Healthy individuals living in the same locality as cases were selected as controls. Cases and controls were interviewed using a pretested semistructured questionnaire called Dengue Risk Assessment to Initiate Control to collect information on behaviors for increased vulnerability to dengue infection. Relevant data were collected and compiled using Microsoft Excel and the data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20 (IBM, USA). Results: A total of 30 cases (mean age 30.2, standard deviation [SD] 9.2) and 60 controls (mean age 30.08, SD 7.7) were recruited in the study. The results showed that cases were more likely to have certain behaviors associated with dengue than controls, namely, not practicing container management at home during the last 2 weeks (odds ratio [OR] = 3.57 and 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20-10.63), not using repellents (OR = 2.89 and 95% CI: 1.16-7.19), not wearing full-sleeve shirt/trousers (OR = 6.14 and 95% CI: 1.75-23.8), and absence of source reduction practices in the surrounding area (OR = 8.84 and 95% CI: 1.10-71.42). A significantly larger proportion of cases had lower practice scores (≤7) for dengue prevention than controls (OR = 5.20 and 95% CI: 1.41-19.23). Conclusion: This study found that odds of not practicing conventional personal protective measures and container management were higher among dengue fever individuals than controls.