Prevalence, Patterns, and Determinants of Malaria and Malnutrition in Douala, Cameroon: A Cross-Sectional Community-Based Study.

BACKGROUND

Malaria and malnutrition are major public health problems in developing countries. This studywas mainly focused on the prevalence, patterns, and predictors of these conditions and their associations.

METHODS

A cross-sectional community study was conducted from February to March 2018 among 281 participants living in two districts in Douala. A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic information and parasitological and anthropometric data of participants. Nutritional status was determined using age, weight, and height. Body mass index for age (BMIAZ), height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), and weight-for-height (WHZ) scores were computed based on the World Health Organization growth reference curves. Malaria infection was diagnosed using light-emitting diode fluorescence microscopy.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of malaria was 18.9%, mostly asymptomatic cases. Malaria infection was associated with study site ( = 0.04), age ( = 0.01), WAZ ( = 0.0049), HAZ ( = 0.03), and BMI ( = 0.02). The overall prevalence of malnutrition was 43.1%, and stunting was the main form of malnutrition recorded in children under five years of age (23.6%). The risk of being stunted in this group was about quintupled in malaria-infected participants (ARR = 4.70; = 0.02). In those aged 5-19 years, the prevalence of underweight was significantly higher in malaria-positive individuals as compared to their negative counterparts ( = 0.02). The overall prevalence of malaria and malnutrition cooccurrence was 8.5% and varied with age ( < 0.0001) and study site ( = 0.04). . Malaria was associated with malnutrition among the study participants. Early detection and treatment of these ailments would reduce morbidity and mortality.