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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
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Anthropometry and Malaria among Children in Niger: A Cross-Sectional Study

Kieran S O'Brien1, Abdou Amza2, Boubacar Kadri2

  • 1Francis I. Proctor Foundation, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California.

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
|July 18, 2018
PubMed

Insights

This study found no strong link between malnutrition indicators and malaria infection in young children in Niger. However, greater height may be associated with a higher risk of clinical malaria.

Area of Science:

  • Global Health
  • Pediatric Infectious Diseases
  • Nutritional Epidemiology

Background:

  • Malnutrition and malaria disproportionately affect children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa, often co-occurring seasonally.
  • Previous research on the malnutrition-malaria relationship in children has yielded inconclusive results.
  • Understanding this complex interaction is crucial for public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between anthropometric indicators of malnutrition and malaria infection in children under 5 years old in Niger.
  • To analyze the relationship between height-for-age z-score (HAZ) and weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) with malaria parasitemia and clinical malaria.

Main Methods:

  • Secondary analysis of a cluster-randomized trial on trachoma treatment in Niger.
  • Cross-sectional study including 1,649 children aged 6-60 months with anthropometric and malaria data.
  • Statistical models evaluated associations between HAZ/WAZ and malaria parasitemia/clinical malaria.

Main Results:

  • 47.3% of children had malaria parasitemia and 24.3% had clinical malaria.
  • No significant association was found between height-for-age z-score (HAZ) or weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) and malaria parasitemia.
  • A potential association was observed between greater height and an increased risk of clinical malaria.

Conclusions:

  • Most anthropometric indicators were not significantly associated with malaria infection in this population.
  • Height-for-age z-score showed a marginal association with increased risk of clinical malaria.
  • Further research is needed to clarify the nuanced relationship between nutritional status and malaria risk in children.

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