文摘
Few studies have evaluated population-level risk factors for having a bedbug infestation. We describe characteristics associated with bedbug complaints among New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents. Unique households receiving bedbug extermination services in response to a complaint during January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011 were identified from NYCHA’s central facilities work order database. We examined associations between household characteristics and having a bedbug complaint using a generalized estimating equation Poisson regression model, accounting for clustering by housing development. Of the 176,327 NYCHA households, 11,660 (6.6?%) registered a bedbug complaint during 2010-011. Bedbug complaints were independently associated with households having five or more children versus no children (prevalence ratio [PR]--.0), five or more adults versus one adult (PR--.6), a head of household (HOH) with impaired mobility (PR--.3), a household member receiving public assistance (PR--.2), a household income below poverty level (PR--.1), and a female HOH (PR--.1). Infestations were less likely to be reported by households with employed members (PR--.9), and an HOH aged 30-4?years (PR--.9) or 45-1?years (PR--.9), compared with an HOH aged 18-9?years. These results indicate that bedbug control efforts in public housing should be targeted toward households with low income and high occupancy.