Soil-transmitted helminth infection and nutritional status among urban slum children in Kenya

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2014 Feb;90(2):299-305. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.13-0560. Epub 2013 Dec 16.

Abstract

To evaluate the nutritional impact of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 205 pre-school (PSC) and 487 school-aged children (SAC) randomly selected from the surveillance registry of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the Kibera slum in Kenya. Hemoglobin, iron deficiency (ID), vitamin A deficiency (VAD), inflammation, malaria, anthropometry, and STH ova were measured. Poisson regression models evaluated associations between STH and malnutrition outcomes and controlled for confounders. Approximately 40% of PSC and SAC had STH infection, primarily Ascaris and Trichuris; 2.9% of PSC and 1.1% of SAC had high-intensity infection. Malnutrition prevalence among PSC and SAC was anemia (38.3% and 14.0%, respectively), ID (23.0% and 5.0%, respectively), VAD (16.9% and 4.5%, respectively), and stunting (29.7% and 16.9%, respectively). In multivariate analysis, STH in PSC was associated with VAD (prevalence ratio [PR] = 2.2, 95% confidence interval = 1.1-4.6) and ID (PR = 3.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.6-6.6) but not anemia or stunting. No associations were significant in SAC. Integrated deworming and micronutrient supplementation strategies should be evaluated in this population.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / blood
  • Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / complications
  • Animals
  • Ascaris / isolation & purification
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Helminthiasis / complications
  • Helminthiasis / epidemiology*
  • Helminthiasis / transmission*
  • Hemoglobins / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Kenya / epidemiology
  • Malaria / blood
  • Malaria / complications
  • Male
  • Malnutrition / complications
  • Malnutrition / epidemiology*
  • Nutritional Status*
  • Poverty Areas*
  • Prevalence
  • Schools
  • Soil / parasitology*
  • Trichuris / isolation & purification
  • Urban Population
  • Vitamin D Deficiency / blood
  • Vitamin D Deficiency / complications

Substances

  • Hemoglobins
  • Soil