Parasitemia, Anemia, and Malarial Anemia in Infants and Young Children in a Rural Holoendemic Plasmodium Falciparum Transmission Area

Abstract

Malarial anemia (MA) is a multifactorial disease for which the complex etiological basis is only partially defined. The association of clinical, nutritional, demographic, and socioeconomic factors with parasitemia, anemia, and MA was determined for children presenting at a hospital in a holoendemic area of Plasmodium falciparum transmission in western Kenya. Parasitemia was not associated with malaria disease severity. In univariate logistic regression, fever was significantly associated with parasitemia, and wasting was associated with increased presentation of MA. Caretaker's level of education and occupation were significantly correlated with parasitemia, anemia, and MA. Housing structure was also significantly associated with parasitemia and anemia. Bed net use was protective against parasitemia but not anemia or MA. Multivariate logistic regression models demonstrated that fever, mother's occupation, and bed net use were associated with parasitemia. In the current study, none of the factors were associated with anemia or MA in the multivariate models.

Increased circulating interleukin (IL)-23 in children with malarial anemia: In vivo and in vitro relationship with co-regulatory cytokines IL-12 and IL-10

“…These results suggest that the pattern of IL-23, IL-12, and IL-10 production observed in children with malarial anemia in the current study were significantly influenced by the strong relationship between parasite density and production of these cytokines. It is also important to point out that in this population of children, we have consistently observed that parasitemia is not strongly associated with malarial anemia severity [29,35,38]. This could explain, at least in part, our observation that the absolute levels of these cytokines were comparable between the MlMA and SMA groups.…”

“…SMA is the primary clinical manifestation of severe malaria in children under the age of 5 years in this region, with the peak incidence of malarial anemia occurring in children 7-24 months of age [5,34]. A detailed description of the study area and the hematological manifestations of pediatric malarial anemia (MA) in the study population can be found in our recent publication [35].…”

“…Children (n=69; age 0-3 years) presenting with acute P. falciparum malaria were recruited from an on-going hospital-based longitudinal study at the SDH, western Kenya [35]. Children with P. falciparum parasitemia (any density) were stratified according to Hb levels into the following categories: mild malarial anemia (MlMA, n=25; Hb 8.0-10.9 g/dL and free from the symptoms of severe malaria such as hypoglycemia); and SMA (n=25; Hb<6.0 g/dL and free from the symptoms of severe malaria such as hypoglycemia).…”

Socioeconomic development as an intervention against malaria: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…20 records met our inclusion criteria (table), [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] and of these 15 contained the necessary data for inclusion in the quantitative analysis (meta-analysis). Five records were excluded from the quantitative analysis either because Bayesian credible intervals were reported (n=2) or because ORs could not be calculated from the available data (n=3)[A: sentence correct as edited?].…”

STAT6-mediated suppression of erythropoiesis in an experimental model of malarial anemia

“…[1][2][3][4] In addition to destruction of infected and uninfected red blood cells, insufficient erythropoiesis, due to either ineffective erythropoiesis and/or dyserythropoiesis, plays a key role in malarial anemia. 5,6 Deficient erythropoietin (EPO) production does not appear to provide an explanation for malarial anemia since most studies indicate that EPO production is adequately increased in response to the level of anemia.…”