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Parasitic helminth infection and cognitive function in school children
C Nokes1, S M Grantham-McGregor, A W Sawyer
1Wellcome Trust Research Centre for Parasitic Infections, Department of Biology, Imperial College, London, U.K.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|February 22, 1992
Summary
Whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) infection negatively impacts school children's memory. Treatment reversed these cognitive deficits, restoring normal function.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) infection is a common soil-transmitted helminthiasis.
- High worm burdens may affect cognitive development in school-aged children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of Trichuris trichiura infection on cognitive functions in Jamaican school children.
- To determine if deworming therapy reverses observed cognitive impairments.
Main Methods:
- A double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 159 school children (ages 9-12) with whipworm infection.
- Cognitive function tests assessing auditory short-term memory and long-term memory scanning/retrieval.
- Forward-stepwise multiple linear regression analysis to evaluate treatment effects.
Main Results:
- Whipworm infection was associated with significant impairments in auditory short-term memory and long-term memory retrieval.
- Deworming treatment led to significant improvements in these cognitive functions.
- Nine weeks post-treatment, cognitive function in treated children did not differ significantly from uninfected controls.
Conclusions:
- Trichuris trichiura infection adversely affects specific cognitive functions in children.
- The negative cognitive effects of whipworm infection are reversible with appropriate antiparasitic therapy.
- Public health interventions targeting soil-transmitted helminths can improve children's cognitive outcomes.