ArticleMalaria journal2013
Submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum malaria and low birth weight in an area of unstable malaria transmission in Central Sudan.
Article in Malaria journal, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence, predictors and adverse perinatal outcomes of placental malaria in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Pooled it
- Microscopic and submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum infection, maternal anaemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Papua New Guinea: a cohort study.Malaria journal · 2019Trial
- The Performance of a Rapid Diagnostic Test in Detecting Malaria Infection in Pregnant Women and the Impact of Missed Infections.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2016Trial
- Prevalence of placental Plasmodium falciparum malaria and associated factors among pregnant women in health facilities in Eastern Uganda.Malaria journal · 2026Article
- Predictors of birth weight in pregnant women with malaria: a prospective cohort facility-based study in Webuye-Kenya.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Prevalence of Malaria Infection in Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinics in Southern Senegal.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Article
- Review
- Accuracy of diagnosis among clinical malaria patients: comparing microscopy, RDT and a highly sensitive quantitative PCR looking at the implications for submicroscopic infections.Malaria journal · 2023Article
- Impact of Sub-patent Malaria During Pregnancy on Birth-Weight in Odisha, India: Time-to-Event Analysis of Prospective Longitudinal Follow-Up of a Survey.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2023Article
- The impact of malaria during pregnancy on low birth weight in East-Africa: a topical review.Malaria journal · 2021Review
- Use of a highly-sensitive rapid diagnostic test to screen for malaria in pregnancy in Indonesia.Malaria journal · 2020Article
- Prevalence of placental malaria among asymptomatic pregnant women in Wolkite health center, Gurage zone, Southern Ethiopia.Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 2020Article
- Cord Malaria Infection, Complement Activation, Oxidative Stress, Gestational Age, and Birth Weight, Characterized by HighJournal of tropical medicine · 2020Article
- Impact of SubmicroscopicJournal of tropical medicine · 2019Article
- Clinical Outcomes of Submicroscopic Infections and Correlates of Protection of VAR2CSA Antibodies in a Longitudinal Study of Pregnant Women in Colombia.Infection and immunity · 2018Article
- Placental malaria and its effect on pregnancy outcomes in Sudanese women from Blue Nile State.Malaria journal · 2017Article
- Article
- Submicroscopic and Asymptomatic Plasmodium Parasitaemia Associated with Significant Risk of Anaemia in Papua, Indonesia.PloS one · 2016Article
- Complement activation, placental malaria infection, and birth weight in areas characterized by unstable malaria transmission in central Sudan.Diagnostic pathology · 2015Article
- Does Iron Increase the Risk of Malaria in Pregnancy?Open forum infectious diseases · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMalaria, which frequently occurs in pregnant women in the tropics, is a leading cause of maternal anaemia and low birth weight (LBW) in infants. Few data exist concerning malaria infections that are present at submicroscopic levels during pregnancy and their LBW delivery in babies.
methodsA case-control study (87 in each group) was conducted at the Medani Hospital, Central Sudan. Cases were women who had LBW deliveries where the infants weighed < 2,500 g. Controls were parturient women without having LBW babies. Obstetrical and medical characteristics were gathered from both groups through structured questionnaires. Both cases and controls were investigated for malaria using microscopic blood film analysis, placental histology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Microscopic and PCR analyses were conducted on maternal peripheral blood, placenta, and umbilical cord samples. Infant weights were recorded immediately after birth.
resultsPlasmodium falciparum-positive blood films were not obtained from any of the women (cases or controls). Twenty-seven (31.0%) versus 22 (25.3%) (P = 0.500) of the cases and controls, respectively, had placental malaria infections as determined by histological examination. In comparison to the controls, the submicroscopic malaria infection prevalence rates were significantly higher in the cases; 24 (27.6%) vs six (7.0%), P < 0.001. Multivariate analysis showed that while malaria infection of the placenta (based on histology) was not associated with LBW, submicroscopic P. falciparum infection (OR = 6.89, 95% CI = 2.2-20.8; P = 0.001), or a combination of histologically determined and submicroscopic infections (OR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.2-4.9; P = 0.012), were significantly associated with LBW.
conclusionIn Central Sudan, pregnant women were at a higher risk of having an LBW delivery if they had submicroscopic infections rather than a histological diagnosis of placental malaria.
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