A MATCHED CASE – CONTROL STUDY TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS OF DENGUE FEVER AMONG RESIDENTS OF A LOCAL UNIVERSITY, LAHORE

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To identify potential risk factors of den-gue fever (DF). Study Design: 1:1 matched case-control study. Methodology: Cases were those participants confir-med with DF by laboratory investigation (n = 37) and controls (n = 37) were selected from participants who had no past history of having DF during their stay at the city campus of University of Veterinary and Ani-mal Sciences, Lahore during the outbreak of 2010 and 2011 and were matched on education level. Data Analysis: Logistic regression analyses were applied to check the association of risk factors with dengue infection. Results: Signs and symptoms showed that the pati-ents suffering from DF had fever (100%), headache (100%), body pain (97.3%), eye pain (89.2%), joint pain (83.8%), abdominal pain (62.2%), gum bleeding (37.8%), nasal bleeding (18.9%), diarrhea (27%), blo-od in stool (5.4%) and blood in urine (2.7%). People not using repellents (Odds Ratio [OR] = 6.68; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.30 - 34.18), and people not sleeping inside screened doors and windows (OR = 4.82; 95% CI: 1.17-19.72) were the significant poten-tial risk factors. Conclusion: Dengue could be controlled by aware-ness and adapting protective measures.