The effects of malaria control on nutritional status in infancy.

Journal article

Both malaria and undernutrition are major causes of paediatric mortality and morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa. The introduction of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITBN) during a randomized controlled trial on the Kenyan coast significantly reduced severe, life-threatening malaria and all-cause childhood mortality. This paper describes the effects of the intervention upon the nutritional status of infants aged between 1 and 11 months of age. Seven hundred and eighty seven infants who slept under ITBN and 692 contemporaneous control infants, were seen during one of three cross-sectional surveys conducted during a one year period. Standardized weight-for-age and mid-upper arm circumference measures were significantly higher among infants who used ITBN compared with control infants. Whether these improvements in markers of nutritional status were a direct result of concomitant reductions in clinical malaria episodes remains uncertain. Never-the-less evidence suggests that even moderate increases in weight-for-age scores can significantly reduce the probability of mortality in childhood and ITBN may provide additional gains to child survival beyond their impressive effects upon malaria-specific events.

Authors: Snow, R; Molyneux, C; Njeru, E; Omumbo, J; Nevill, C

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Acta tropica
• Volume: 65
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-10
• Publication date: 1997-04-01
• DOI: 10.1016/s0001-706x(96)00601-8
• EISSN: 1873-6254
• ISSN: 0001-706X
• Language: English
• Keywords: Biological Markers; Humans; Insecticides; Mosquito Control; Weight Gain; Bedding and Linens; Infant, Newborn; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Cross-Sectional Studies; Infant; Malaria, Falciparum