Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2013 Jun;88(6):1102-1108. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.12-0633. Epub 2013 Apr 15.
Asymptomatic parasitemia is common among schoolchildren living in areas of high malaria transmission, yet little is known about its effect on cognitive function in these settings. To investigate associations between asymptomatic parasitemia, anemia, and cognition among primary schoolchildren living in a high malaria transmission setting, we studied 740 children enrolled in a clinical trial in Tororo, Uganda. Parasitemia, measured by thick blood smears, was present in 30% of the children. Infected children had lower test scores for abstract reasoning (adjusted mean difference [AMD] -0.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] -1.01 to -0.21) and sustained attention (AMD -1.6 95% CI -2.40 to -0.81) compared with uninfected children. There was also evidence for a dose-response relationship between parasite density and scores for sustained attention. No associations were observed between anemia and either test of cognition. Schoolchildren in high transmission settings may experience cognitive benefits, from interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence of asymptomatic parasitemia.
无症状性寄生虫血症在高疟疾传播地区的学龄儿童中很常见，但人们对此类寄生虫血症对这些地区认知功能的影响知之甚少。为了研究高疟疾传播环境中无症状性寄生虫血症、贫血和认知之间的关联，我们对乌干达托罗罗的 740 名参与临床试验的小学生进行了研究。通过厚血涂片检测到 30%的儿童存在寄生虫血症。与未感染的儿童相比，感染儿童在抽象推理（校正均数差值 [AMD] -0.6，95%置信区间 [CI] -1.01 至 -0.21）和持续注意力（AMD -1.6，95%CI -2.40 至 -0.81）方面的测试得分较低。寄生虫密度与持续注意力得分之间也存在剂量反应关系的证据。贫血与任何认知测试均无关联。针对降低无症状性寄生虫血症患病率的干预措施可能会使高传播环境中的学龄儿童受益于认知。
