The Effect of Malaria and Intestinal Helminth Coinfection on Birth Outcomes in Kumasi, Ghana |
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| Authors: | Nelly J. Yatich Pauline E. Jolly Ellen Funkhouser Tsiri Agbenyega Julian C. Rayner John E. Ehiri Archer Turpin Jonathan K. Stiles William O. Ellis Yi Jiang Jonathan H. Williams |
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| Affiliation: | Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, Sainte Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada; Filariasis Research Centre and Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement and Université Montpellier 1, Montpellier, France; Filarial Diseases Unit, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan |
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| Abstract: | This study was conducted to investigate the effect of Plasmodium falciparum and intestinal helminth coinfection on maternal anemia and birth outcomes. A cross-sectional study of 746 women who delivered in two hospitals in Kumasi was conducted. Data were collected using an investigator-administered questionnaire and from patients'' medical records. Blood was collected for determination of P. falciparum and hemoglobin levels. Adverse pregnancy outcomes were high (44.6%). Coinfection (versus no infection) was associated with 3-fold increase in low birth weight. For women with anemia, coinfection was 2.6 times and 3.5 times as likely to result in preterm deliveries and small for gestational age infants. The odds of having anemia was increased almost 3-fold by coinfection. Coinfection (versus helminth only) resulted in increased risks of anemia, low birth weight, and small for gestational age infants. This study demonstrates that women with malaria and intestinal helminth coinfection are at particular risk of adverse birth outcomes. |
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