Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35486649›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

Nutritional status of children under five years old involved in a seasonal malaria chemoprevention study in the Nanyumbu and Masasi districts in Tanzania.

Bruno P Mmbando, Richard O Mwaiswelo, Frank Chacky, Fabrizio Molteni, Ally Mohamed, Samwel Lazaro, Billy Ngasala

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Malaria Incidence, Growth, and their Relationship among a Cohort of Malawian Children.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Bruno P MmbandoNational Institute for Medical Research, Tanga Centre, Tanga, Tanzania.ORCID 0000-0001-7232-8708
Richard O MwaisweloDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Hubert Kairuki Memorial University, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Frank ChackyNational Malaria Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Fabrizio MolteniNational Malaria Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Ally MohamedNational Malaria Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Samwel LazaroNational Malaria Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Billy NgasalaDepartment of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare · TZHubert Kairuki Memorial University · TZMuhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences · TZNational Institute for Medical Research · TZ

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMalnutrition and malaria are common co-morbidities in low-income countries, especially among under-fives children. But the malnutrition situation in Masasi and Nanyumbu districts, its interaction with malaria infection and the influence of socioeconomic factors are not well understood.

methodsChildren aged between 3-59 months in Masasi and Nanyumbu were screened for nutritional status and malaria infection in the community. Nutritional status was determined using age and anthropometric parameters. Z-scores (weight for age (WAZ), height for age (HAZ) and weight for height (WHZ)) were calculated based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) growth reference curves. Malaria infection was determined using malaria rapid diagnostic test and microscopy. Hemoglobin concentration was assessed using HemoCue spectrophotometer, and anemia was classified as hemoglobin concentration < 11.0g/dL. Structured questionnaire was used to collect socio- demographic information electronically.

resultsA total of 2242 children, 1539 (68.6%) from Masasi and 1169 (52.1%) females were involved in the study. The mean z-scores (WAZ = -0.60 and HAZ = -1.56) were lower than the WHO reference population. The overall prevalence of malnutrition was 49%, and it was significantly higher in Nanyumbu (52.5%) than in Masasi (47.3%), (x2 = 5.045, p = 0.025). Prevalence of malnutrition was higher in boys (53.0%) than in girls (45.0%) (x2 = 13.9, p < 0.001). Stunting was the most prevalent component of undernutrition; it was slightly prevalent in Nanyumbu (46.5%) compared to Masasi (42.0%), (x2 = 3.624, p = 0.057) and in boys (48.2%) than in girls (39.1%), x2 = 17.44, p<0.001. Only 15.8% of the undernourished children had malaria infection. Sex, age group and anaemia were significantly associated with undernourishment (p<0.05), while district and malaria infection were marginally (p≤0.06) associated with undernourishment. None of the undernutrition indices was associated with malaria infection.

conclusionUndernutrition was highly prevalent in the study population and was influenced sex, age, anaemia and malaria infection. More emphasis is needed to address the malnutrition problem especially stunting in Masasi and Nanyumbu districts.

Indexed as

AnemiaMalariaMalnutritionChemopreventionChildChild, PreschoolCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGrowth DisordersHemoglobinsHumansInfantMaleNutritional StatusSeasonsTanzaniaHemoglobins

Identifiers

PMID35486649
PMCPMC9053822
OpenAlexW4225162066

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.