INTRODUCTION Diarrhea is responsible for the death of more than 90% of under-five children in low and lower-middle income countries. Regionally, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 88% of deaths with the same age group. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of diarrhea among children under-five years in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS The appended, most recent demographic and health survey datasets of 34 sub-Saharan African countries were used to determine the prevalence and associated factors of diarrhea among under-five children in the region. A total weighted sample of 330,866 under-five children were included in the study. Both bivariable and multivariable multilevel logistic regression were done to determine the associated factors of diarrhea among under five children in sub-Saharan Africa. The Odds Ratio (OR) with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was calculated for those potential factors included in the final model. RESULT The overall prevalence of diarrhea in this study was 15.3% (95% CI: 15.1-15.4). Those children of mothers aged 15-24 (AOR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.23, 1.30) and 25-34 years (AOR = 1.15; 95%CI: 1.12, 1.18), those children of mothers with no education (AOR = 1.69; 95%CI: 1.57-1.82), primary education (AOR = 1.73; 95%CI: 1.61-1.86) and secondary education (AOR = 1.49; 95%CI: 1.38-1.59) had higher odds of having diarrhea. Those children from poorest (AOR = 1.14; 95%CI: 1.10, 1.19), poorer (AOR = 1.12; 95%CI: 1.08-1.17), middle (AOR = 1.06; 95%CI: 1.02, 1.10), and richer (AOR = 1.14; 95%CI: 1.04-1.12) households had higher chance of having diarrhea compared to their counterparts. CONCLUSION This study found that the prevalence of childhood diarrhea morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa was high. Maternal age, wealth index, maternal education, maternal occupation, age of child, time of initiation of breast feeding and time to get water source were significantly associated with diarrhea. Therefore, intervention through health education and health promotion for mothers/caretakers who are poor, less educated, and young should be designed to prevent diarrhea in the region.

中文翻译：

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撒哈拉以南非洲五岁以下儿童的腹泻和相关因素：来自 34 个撒哈拉以南国家人口和健康调查的证据。

引言 腹泻是导致低收入和中低收入国家 90% 以上 5 岁以下儿童死亡的原因。从区域来看，南亚和撒哈拉以南非洲占同年龄组死亡人数的 88%。因此，本研究的目的是确定撒哈拉以南非洲地区 5 岁以下儿童腹泻的患病率和相关因素。方法 附加的 34 个撒哈拉以南非洲国家的最新人口和健康调查数据集用于确定该地区 5 岁以下儿童腹泻的流行率和相关因素。该研究共纳入了 330,866 名五岁以下儿童的加权样本。进行双变量和多变量多级逻辑回归以确定撒哈拉以南非洲五岁以下儿童腹泻的相关因素。对于最终模型中包含的那些潜在因素，计算了具有 95% 置信区间 (CI) 的优势比 (OR)。结果 本研究中腹泻的总体患病率为 15.3%（95% CI：15.1-15.4）。15-24 岁（AOR = 1.26；95% CI：1.23, 1.30）和 25-34 岁（AOR = 1.15；95%CI：1.12, 1.18）母亲的子女，母亲未受过教育的子女（AOR = 1.69；95%CI：1.57-1.82），小学教育（AOR = 1.73；95%CI：1.61-1.86）和中等教育（AOR = 1.49；95%CI：1.38-1.59）有更高的腹泻几率。那些来自最贫困 (AOR = 1.14; 95%CI: 1.10, 1.19)、较贫困 (AOR = 1.12; 95%CI: 1.08-1.17)、中等 (AOR = 1.06; 95%CI: 1.02, 1. 10) 和较富裕的家庭 (AOR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.04-1.12) 与其他家庭相比，他们患腹泻的几率更高。结论 本研究发现，撒哈拉以南非洲地区儿童腹泻发病率很高。产妇年龄、财富指数、产妇教育程度、产妇职业、孩子年龄、开始母乳喂养的时间和取水时间与腹泻显着相关。因此，应该设计通过健康教育和健康促进对贫困、受教育程度低和年轻的母亲/看护人进行干预，以预防该地区的腹泻。产妇年龄、财富指数、产妇教育程度、产妇职业、孩子年龄、开始母乳喂养的时间和取水时间与腹泻显着相关。因此，应该设计通过健康教育和健康促进对贫困、受教育程度低和年轻的母亲/看护人进行干预，以预防该地区的腹泻。产妇年龄、财富指数、产妇教育程度、产妇职业、孩子年龄、开始母乳喂养的时间和取水时间与腹泻显着相关。因此，应该设计通过健康教育和健康促进对贫困、受教育程度低和年轻的母亲/看护人进行干预，以预防该地区的腹泻。