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Iron and malaria: a dangerous liaison?
Violeta Moya-Alvarez1, Florence Bodeau-Livinec2, Michel Cot2
1V. Moya-Alvarez is with the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Mère et enfant face aux infections tropicales, Faculté de Pharmacie de Paris, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France; and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique, Rennes, France. F. Bodeau-Livinec is with the Département Épidémiologie et Biostatistiques, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique, Rennes, France; and the Obstetrical, Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team (EPOPé), Center for Epidemiology and Statistics Sorbonne Paris Cité, DHU Risks in Pregnancy, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France. M. Cot is with the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Mère et enfant face aux infections tropicales, Faculté de Pharmacie de Paris, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; the Centre Biomédical des Cordeliers, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France; and PRES Paris Sorbonne Cité, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France. vmoyaalvarez@gmail.com.
Iron supplementation
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Nutritional Science
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Background:
- Anemia affects 40% of children in low-income countries, with malaria exacerbating this burden.
- Iron is essential for Plasmodium falciparum, raising concerns about iron supplementation safety in malaria-endemic areas.
- Existing research presents conflicting evidence on the relationship between iron levels and malaria risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on the association between iron status and malaria.
- To synthesize recent findings and qualitative results regarding iron supplementation and malaria.
- To identify limitations and future research directions in this field.
Main Methods:
- A narrative review of literature published between 2012 and 2016.
- Searched the MEDLINE database for studies on malaria and iron levels.
- Synthesized findings from observational studies, older clinical trials, and recent reviews.
Main Results:
- Observational studies suggested protection from malaria with iron supplementation in iron-deficient children.
- Older trials indicated increased malaria susceptibility with iron supplementation.
- Recent trials and a 2016 Cochrane review found no significant association between iron supplements and increased malaria risk.
Conclusions:
- Evidence for a strong iron-malaria association is limited by confounding factors and methodological inconsistencies.
- Further research is needed to investigate the impact of prior health status and iron level thresholds.
- The benefits of iron supplementation in malaria-endemic regions require more comprehensive evaluation.
