Table 1

Characteristics of schoolchildren in urban and rural areas

Risk factor	Urban (n=2526)		Rural (n=4295)		p Value for rural vs urban
Risk factor	n	%	n	%	p Value for rural vs urban
Demographics
Age (years)
5–8	856	33.9	1197	27.9	<0.001
9–11	1252	49.6	1511	35.2
12–16	418	16.5	1587	36.9
Sex
Female	1196	47.4	2089	48.6	0.303
Male	1330	52.6	2206	51.4	0.303
Ethnicity*
Afro-Ecuadorian	2116	83.9	3957	92.5	<0.001
Other	405	16.1	323	7.5	<0.001
Maternal educational level
Illiterate	546	22.0	2434	56.8	<0.001
Completed primary	1257	50.0	1498	35.0
Completed secondary	720	28.0	353	8.2
Monthly income (US$)
≤150	968	39.2	3370	79.9	<0.001
>150	1499	60.8	845	20.1	<0.001
Nutritional status
Underweight	341	13.5	703	16.4	<0.001
Normal	1718	68.0	2976	69.3
Overweight	467	18.5	616	14.3
General hygiene factors
Pets inside the house
No	1004	39.7	1650	38.5	0.293
Yes	1522	60.3	2640	61.5	0.293
Crowding (persons/sleeping room)
<Median	1298	51.5	2141	49.9	0.202
>Median	1222	48.5	2149	50.1	0.202
Birth order
≥5th	1367	54.2	1726	40.2	<0.001
3rd–4th	727	28.8	1119	26.1
1st–2nd	426	17.0	1450	33.7
Bathroom (%)
Field	178	7.1	1553	36.1	<0.001
Latrine	595	23.5	2617	61.0
WC	1752	69.4	123	2.9
Potable drinking water
No	199	7.9	4028	93.8	<0.001
Yes	2320	92.1	266	6.2	<0.001
Daycare attendance
No	1431	57.4	2291	54.1	0.008
Yes	1061	42.6	1944	45.9	0.008
Household construction
Wood/bamboo	218	8.7	2443	57.2	<0.001
Mixed cement/wood	1139	45.2	1151	26.9
Cement	1163	46.1	678	15.9
Farming exposures
Father with agricultural occupation
No	2306	93.8	2213	52.4	<0.001
Yes	152	6.2	2007	47.5	<0.001
Contact with large farm animals*
No	2306	91.4	2979	69.5	<0.001
Yes	218	8.6	1310	30.5	<0.001
Unpasteurised milk†
No	1594	63.2	2455	57.3	<0.001
Yes	927	36.8	1831	42.7	<0.001
Infections
Geohelminth infections
Any geohelminth	1036	42.9	2849	69.0	<0.001
Ascaris lumbricoides	479	19.9	1752	42.4	<0.001
Trichuris trichiura	853	35.4	2234	54.1	<0.001
Hookworm	111	4.6	228	5.5	0.106

Median crowding was 3.
Numbers of missing values (rural/urban) are given in parentheses: ethnicity (15/5); maternal educational level (10/3); monthly income (80/59); pets inside the house (5/0); crowding (5/6); birth order (0/6); bathroom (2/1); potable drinking water (1/7); daycare attendance (60/34); household construction (23/6); father with agricultural occupation (75/68); contact with large farm animals (6/2); unpasteurised milk (9/5); any geohelminth (163/113); Ascaris lumbricoides (163/113); Trichuris trichiura (163/113); Hookworm (163/113).
*Pigs, cows, horses, mules, donkeys.
†Consumption of unpasteurised milk at least once weekly.