Comorbid patterns of anaemia and diarrhoea among children aged under 5 years in Ghana: a multivariate complex sample logistic regression analysis and spatial mapping visualisation

Abstract Background Anaemia and diarrhoea are known independent causes of under-five morbidity and mortality. This study sought to investigate predictors of comorbid patterns of anaemia and diarrhoea using the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). Methods The study employed analysis of secondary data from the 2014 GDHS. We performed a multivariate complex sample logistic regression and spatial analysis. Results The weighted prevalence of comorbid anaemia and diarrhoea was 9.28% with the highest burden (16.45%) found in the Upper West region. Independent predictors (risk factors) of comorbid patterns of anaemia and diarrhoea were children aged 6–23 mo (OR=2.17, 95% CI 1.42 to 3.33), male gender (OR=1.50, 95% C1 1.04 to 2.16), history of fever (OR=4.37, 95% CI 2.94 to 6.50) and living in a household with two children aged <5 y (OR=1.80, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.84). Protective factors were having a father with secondary or higher education (OR=0.57, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.97), living in a household with ≥6 members (OR=0.46, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.75) and living in a richer household (OR=0.38, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.89). Surface maps revealed inter-regional and subregional variations. Conclusion The study shows that the independent predictors of comorbid patterns of anaemia and diarrhoea among children aged <5 y in Ghana are age, gender, history of fever, the number of children aged <5 y in the household, parental education, household size and household wealth. The study identified zones to be targeted for cost-effective policy interventions.