Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37695763›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2023

Prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths and associated risk factors among primary school children in Kandahar, Afghanistan: A cross-sectional analytical study.

Bilal Ahmad Rahimi, Najeebullah Rafiqi, Zarghoon Tareen, Khalil Ahmad Kakar, Mohammad Hashim Wafa, Muhammad Haroon Stanikzai, Mohammad Asim Beg, Abdul Khaliq Dost, Walter R Taylor

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
4.2field-weighted citation impact, top 5% 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

13 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Anthelmintic Activity ofCombinatorial chemistry & high throughput screening · 2025
    Article
  9. Article
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  13. Observational
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

9 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Bilal Ahmad RahimiDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Kandahar, Afghanistan.ORCID 0000-0002-6630-5742
Najeebullah RafiqiDepartment of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Zarghoon TareenDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Khalil Ahmad KakarDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Malalay Institute of Higher Education, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Mohammad Hashim WafaDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Muhammad Haroon StanikzaiDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Mohammad Asim BegDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Abdul Khaliq DostDepartment of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Walter R TaylorMahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Clinical Research Unit (MORU), Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Kandahar University · AFAga Khan University Hospital · PKMahidol University · TH

Funding

Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSoil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are global health problem, especially in low-income countries. Main objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence and intensity of STH and its risk factors among school children in Kandahar city of Afghanistan. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL

findingsThis was a school-based cross-sectional analytical study, with data collected during eight-month-period (May-December, 2022) from 6- and 12-years old school children in Kandahar city, Afghanistan. All the stool samples were examined by saline wet mount method and Kato-Katz technique. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Chi square test, and multivariate logistic regression. A total of 1275 children from eight schools of Kandahar city were included in this study. Mean age of these children was 8.3 years with 53.3% boys. The overall prevalence of any intestinal parasitic infection was 68.4%. The overall prevalence of STH infection was 39.1%, with Ascaris lumbricoides (29.4%) as the most prevalent STH species. Mean intensity of overall STH infection was 97.8. Multivariate logistic regression revealed playing barefoot (AOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.2), not washing hands after defecating and before eating (AOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0-1.7), having untrimmed nails (AOR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.8), and belonging to poor families (AOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0-1.7) as the risk factors associated with the predisposition of school children for getting STH in Kandahar city of Afghanistan. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: There is high prevalence of STH among school children of Kandahar city in Afghanistan. Most of the risk factors are related to poverty, decreased sanitation, and improper hygiene. Improvement of socioeconomic status, sanitation, and health education to promote public awareness about health and hygiene together with periodic mass deworming programs are better strategies for the control of STH infections in Afghanistan.

Indexed as

HelminthsAfghanistanAnimalsChildCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMalePrevalenceRisk FactorsSchools

Identifiers

PMID37695763
PMCPMC10513306
OpenAlexW4386618285

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.