Table 4

Socio-economic characteristics of 507 rural schoolchildren aged 6–10 years from 12 Mexican communities, 1997–2000.

Characteristics
Sinaloa n = 356
Oaxaca n = 151
p value

Mother



     Unemployed (%)
65 (231)e
59 (89)e
0.59d
     Employed (%)
35 (125)e
41 (62)e
0.44d
     Primary education in years
5 (3.7)a (18)e
4.5 (2.8)a (7)e
0.79b
Father



     Unemployed (%)
9 (32)e
10 (15)e
0.88d
     Employed (%)
91(324)e
90 (136)e
0.99d
     Primary education in years
4.0 (3.5)a (14)e
3.8 (3.2)a (6)e
0.70b
Household conditions



Walls



     Block/cement (%)
67 (239)e
31 (47)e
<0.0001d
     Adobe (%)
17 (61)e
26 (39)e

     Bamboo/mud (%)
12 (43)e
24 (36)e

     Board laminate/wood (%)
4 (14)e
19 (29)e

Roof



     Concrete (%)
80 (285)e
13 (20)e
<0.0001d
     Metal laminate/wood (%)
16 (57)e
83 (296)e

     Board laminate/wood (%)
4 (14)e
4 (14)e

Floor



     Bare-earth (%)
37 (132)e
47 (71)e
0.20d
     Cement (%)
63 (224)e
53 (80)e
0.32d
Crowding indexc
4 (14)e
6 (9)e
0.34b
Sanitation facilities



     Defecation in Open Area (%)
8 (29)e
28 (42)e
<0.0001d
     Pit (%)
68 (242)e
63 (95)e

     Latrine (%)
24 (85)e
9 (14)e

Drinking water



     Treated water (%)
47 (167)e
70 (106)e
<0.01d
     Untreated water (%)
53 (189)e
30 (45)e
<0.01d
Family income
4 times minimum daily wage
1 minimum daily wage
<0.001b

a Mean (standard deviation); b Student t-test; c Mean of number people per room; d Chi square test; e Frequency or number of individuals.

Quihui et al. BMC Public Health 2006 6:225   doi:10.1186/1471-2458-6-225