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Acute diarrhea risk factors

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Chandrakala Yannam, MD [2] Sudarshana Datta, MD [3]

Overview

The risk factors of acute diarrhea may be assessed based on the epidemiologic associations and the patient exposure histories. Risk factors may be classified based on travel history, epidemics, outbreaks, food history, animal contact, hospitalization and immunosupression. The 2017 Infectious Diseases Society of America Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Infectious Diarrhea lists the risk factors of diarrhea along with their causative pathogens.

Risk factors

According to the 2017 Infectious Diseases Society of America Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Infectious Diarrhea, common risk factors along with causative pathogens of diarrhea include the following:[1]

 
 
 
 
 
Contamination:
•Foodborne outbreaks in hotels, cruise ships, resorts, restaurants, catered events
•Consumption of unpasteurized milk or dairy products
•Waterborne
•Animal exposure
•Consumption of raw or undercooked meat or poultry
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Exposure:
•Child care facilities
•Long term care facilities
Hospitalisation
•International travel
 
 
RISK FACTORS FOR ACUTE DIARRHEA
 
 
 
Host factors:
Immunocompromised hosts
•Certain sexual practices
•Age group
Hemochromatosis or hemoglobinopathy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Side effects of pharmacotherapy:
Antimicrobial therapy
•Drug side effects
 
 
 

Contamination

Host factors

Side effects of pharmacotherapy

Exposure

References

  1. Dunn N, Gossman WG. PMID 29083755. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. Todd EC (1997). “Epidemiology of foodborne diseases: a worldwide review”. World Health Stat Q. 50 (1–2): 30–50. PMID 9282385.
  3. Gould LH, Walsh KA, Vieira AR, Herman K, Williams IT, Hall AJ, Cole D (2013). “Surveillance for foodborne disease outbreaks – United States, 1998-2008”. MMWR Surveill Summ. 62 (2): 1–34. PMID 23804024.
  4. Somboonwit C, Menezes LJ, Holt DA, Sinnott JT, Shapshak P (2017). “Current views and challenges on clinical cholera”. Bioinformation. 13 (12): 405–409. doi:10.6026/97320630013405. PMC 5767916. PMID 29379258.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Guzman-Herrador B, Carlander A, Ethelberg S, Freiesleben de Blasio B, Kuusi M, Lund V, Löfdahl M, MacDonald E, Nichols G, Schönning C, Sudre B, Trönnberg L, Vold L, Semenza JC, Nygård K (2015). “Waterborne outbreaks in the Nordic countries, 1998 to 2012”. Euro Surveill. 20 (24). PMID 26111239.
  6. Efstratiou A, Ongerth JE, Karanis P (2017). “Waterborne transmission of protozoan parasites: Review of worldwide outbreaks – An update 2011-2016”. Water Res. 114: 14–22. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2017.01.036. PMID 28214721.
  7. 7.0 7.1 “Severe Clostridium difficile-associated disease in populations previously at low risk–four states, 2005”. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 54 (47): 1201–5. 2005. PMID 16319813.
  8. Heather CS (2015). “Travellers’ diarrhoea”. BMJ Clin Evid. 2015. PMC 4415508. PMID 25928418.

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