Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, The University of Douala, P.O. Box 24157, Douala, Cameroon.
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Douala, P.O. Box 24157, Cameroon.
Biomed Res Int. 2021 Jul 12;2021:5553344. doi: 10.1155/2021/5553344. eCollection 2021.
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.
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.
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.
疟疾和营养不良是发展中国家的主要公共卫生问题。本研究主要集中于这些疾病的流行情况、模式和预测因素及其相关性。
2018 年 2 月至 3 月，在杜阿拉的两个区进行了一项横断面社区研究，共有 281 名参与者。使用问卷收集参与者的社会人口学信息和寄生虫学及人体测量学数据。营养状况通过年龄、体重和身高来确定。根据世界卫生组织的生长参考曲线，计算出年龄别体重指数（BMIAZ）、身高别年龄（HAZ）、体重别年龄（WAZ）和体重别身高（WHZ）得分。使用发光二极管荧光显微镜诊断疟疾感染。
总体疟疾流行率为 18.9%，主要为无症状病例。疟疾感染与研究地点（ = 0.04）、年龄（ = 0.01）、WAZ（ = 0.0049）、HAZ（ = 0.03）和 BMI（ = 0.02）有关。总体营养不良流行率为 43.1%，五岁以下儿童主要表现为发育迟缓（23.6%）。在该组中，疟疾感染参与者发育迟缓的风险约增加五倍（ARR = 4.70； = 0.02）。在 5-19 岁年龄组中，与阴性个体相比，疟疾阳性个体的消瘦患病率明显更高（ = 0.02）。疟疾和营养不良同时发生的总体流行率为 8.5%，且随年龄（ < 0.0001）和研究地点（ = 0.04）而异。。疟疾与研究参与者的营养不良有关。早期发现和治疗这些疾病将降低发病率和死亡率。
