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Table 5 Fatigue two years after Giardia infection reported in a cohort of 1017 cases, associated with patient characteristics and factors during giardiasis.

From: Severity of Giardiainfection associated with post-infectious fatigue and abdominal symptoms two years after

Characteristics N Fatigue
   Not more than usual
N (%) 		More than usual
N (%) 		Much more than usual
N (%) 		Simple regression analysisa Multiple regression analysisb
      OR P-value OR p-value 95% CI
Gender         Ns  
   Male 338 199 (59) 107 (32) 32 (10) 1.00   1.00   
   Female 592 312 (53) 199 (34) 81 (14) 1.32 0.038 -   
Age c (years) 930     1.02 <0.001 1.02 0.007 (1.01, 1.03)
Abdominal problems before 2004 leading to          
   Visiting doctor 114 49 (43) 50 (44) 15 (13) 1.56 0.020 - Ns  
   Hospitalisation 14 4 (29) 8 (57) 2 (14) 2.21 0.113 - Ns  
   Sick leave 17 6 (35) 10 (59) 1 (6) 1.60 0.309 - Ns  
   Use of medication 35 15 (43) 18 (51) 2 (6) 1.31 0.414 - Ns  
   Problems without seeking health care 95 45 (47) 40 (42) 10 (11) 1.26 0.256 2.13 0.025 (1.10, 4.15)
No abdominal Problems before 2004 662 380 (57) 198 (30) 84 (13) 0.78 0.081 - Ns  
Acute giardiasis          
   Diarrhoea 839 456 (54) 279 (33) 104 (12) 1.28 0.255 - Ns  
   Abdominal pain 646 322 (50) 236 (37) 88 (14) 1.95 <0.001 - Ns  
   Weight loss 506 255 (50) 180 (36) 71 (14) 1.50 0.002 - Ns  
   Malaise 714 334 (47) 277 (39) 103 (14) 5.03 <0.001 3.68 <0.001 (2.25, 6.01)
   Nausea 604 302 (50) 215 (36) 87 (14) 1.81 <0.001 - Ns  
   Foul smell 580 290 (50) 201 (35) 89 (15) 1.80 <0.001 - Ns  
   Bloating 622 311 (50) 224 (36) 87 (14) 1.84 <0.001 - Ns  
Treatment refractory infection d 29 13 (45) 11 (38) 5 (17) 1.52 0.236 - Ns  
Treatment courses e         <0.001  
   0 or 1 326 249 (76) 68 (21) 9 (3) 1.00   1.00   
   2 or more 227 128 (56) 77 (34) 22 (10) 2.55 <0.001 1.98 0.002 (1.28, 3.07)
   Recovered during course but relapsed 3 2 (67) 1 (33) 0 (0) 1.50 0.742 2.37 Ns (0.19, 29.08)
   Not recovered 371 129 (35) 160 (43) 82 (22) 6.39 <0.001 6.20 <0.001 (4.16, 9.24)
Sick leave e         0.001  
   No sick leave 368 232 (63) 106 (29) 30 (8) 1.00   1.00   
   < 1 week 58 30 (52) 24 (41) 4 (7) 1.45 0.180 0.93 Ns (0.49, 1.77)
   1-2 weeks 98 63 (64) 29 (30) 6 (6) 0.93 0.740 0.72 Ns (0.42, 1.23)
   > 2 weeks 150 55 (37) 50 (33) 45 (30) 3.63 <0.001 2.26 <0.001 (1.45, 3.53)
   Not working 232 125 (54) 84 (36) 23 (10) 1.42 0.035 1.08 Ns (0.71, 1.63)
Delayed education e         0.001  
   No delay 291 205 (70) 67 (23) 19 (7) 1.00   1.00   
   < 1 semester 66 31 (47) 30 (46) 5 (8) 2.34 0.002 1.79 0.049 (1.00, 3.19)
   1 semester 39 13 (33) 17 (44) 9 (23) 4.64 <0.001 2.80 0.004 (1.39, 5.66)
   > 1 semester 35 8 (23) 13 (37) 14 (40) 9.21 <0.001 3.88 <0.001 (1.82, 8.30)
   Not a student 357 188 (53) 121 (34) 48 (13) 2.17 <0.001 1.51 0.033 (1.03, 2.21)
  1. Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; Ns, not significant.
  2. a Simple ordinal logistic regression analysis (proportional odds model).
  3. b Ordinal logistic regression analysis (proportional odds model). Multiple regression analysis included all variables in the table. Missing values; n = 241
  4. c Age as continuous variable in the statistical analysis.
  5. d All cases successfully treated with albendazole + metronidazole, paromomycin or quinacrine + metronidazole after 30 (mean) weeks duration of infection [11].
  6. e Categorical variable in the statistical analysis including the categories shown in the table. Likelihood-ratio test (STATA)
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BMC Infectious Diseases

ISSN: 1471-2334

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