The aim of this project is to investigate the relationship of growth rate and percentage of having diarrhoea (both in the first year of a child’s growth). We have selected fifteen studies. Besides of the two main variables as indicated, we also have their demographic data including some social economic status (SES) information. Both Multiple Regression and Meta-Analysis have been used for the analyses. Estimates of coefficient and its standard error of the diarrheal variable with the adjustment of covariates in a regression model from each study are used for the meta-analysis. Using SES variables for the covariates can be a challenge because they are either continuous or categorical. Also, some of them are correlated as well. We convert continuous variables into categorical variables and calculate the correlation matrix. It is then used in the Factor Analysis for the selection of covariates.
