ArticleMalaria journal2022
Implication of asymptomatic and clinical Plasmodium falciparum infections on biomarkers of iron status among school-aged children in Malawi.
Article in Malaria journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Burden of Asymptomatic Malaria Infection in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Exploring Barriers to Elimination and Prevention.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2025Pooled it
- Iron Deficiency Diagnosis in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges, Barriers, and Opportunities.Anemia · 2026Review
- First report of pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 gene deletions compromising HRP2-based malaria rapid diagnostic tests in Malawi.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2025Article
- Correlation of Inflammatory Biomarkers and IgG4 Antibodies with Malaria in Cameroon's Buea Municipality Children.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Iron deficiency anaemia in mothers and infants with high inflammatory burden: Prevalence and profile in a South African birth cohort.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Under-5 Malaria and Fever Morbidities as Correlates of Anaemia in Niger: A Heteroscedasticity-Consistent Ordered Probit Approach.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Longitudinal changes in iron homeostasis in human experimental and clinical malaria.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
- Universal iron supplementation: the best strategy to tackle childhood anaemia in malaria-endemic countries?Wellcome open research · 2023Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIron status is considered as a continuum from an iron deficiency with anaemia, without anaemia, varying amounts of stored iron to iron overload. The burden of Plasmodium falciparum infections is typically high among school-aged children (SAC). Nonetheless, SAC are often less likely to be covered by malaria interventions, making them a group with an untreated reservoir of parasite transmission. This study aimed to assess the effects of asymptomatic and clinical malaria infections on biochemical markers of iron status among SAC in Malawi.
methodsData from the 2015-2016 Malawi Micronutrient Survey (MNS) was used and multivariable logistic regression models using a generalized estimating equation to account for the complex cluster survey design were constructed. Blood samples of 684 children aged 5 to 14 years old were evaluated for clinical and asymptomatic malaria infections. Furthermore, blood samples were used to estimate haemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin (SF) and, soluble transferrin receptors (sTfR) concentrations.
resultsOf the 684 SAC analysed, approximately 42% had asymptomatic malaria, while 41.0% had clinical malaria. Anaemia (low Hb levels), iron deficiency (low SF concentration), and functional iron deficiency (high sTfR levels) were found in 20%, 5%, and 30% of the children, respectively. School-aged children with asymptomatic malaria had increased odds of being anaemic (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 3.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.29-5.99) and increased levels of sTfR (aOR: 3.00, 95% CI 2.01-4.47). Similarly, SAC with clinical malaria had increased odds of being anaemic (aOR: 3.54, 95% CI 2.19-5.72) and increased levels of sTfR (aOR: 3.02, 95% CI 2.02-4.52).
conclusionsBoth asymptomatic and clinical malaria were independent risk factors for anaemia and functional iron deficiency (FID). The notion that asymptomatic and clinical malaria were associated with both anaemia and FID underscores the need for public health programmers to consider adding mass screening and treatment for malaria to existing school-based health programmes.
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