Malaria is associated with poor school performance in an endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon
Abstract Background Approximately 40% of the world's population is at risk for malaria. In highly endemic tropical areas, malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality during infancy. There is a complex interrelationship between malaria, malnutrition and intestinal helminths, and this may...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:00223f89401a4706b22a2b5fac4c2f0e 2023-05-15T15:14:44+02:00 Malaria is associated with poor school performance in an endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon Lacerda Marcus VG Pinheiro Tamam RA Reyes-Lecca Roberto C Vitor-Silva Sheila 2009-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-8-230 https://doaj.org/article/00223f89401a4706b22a2b5fac4c2f0e EN eng BMC http://www.malariajournal.com/content/8/1/230 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-8-230 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/00223f89401a4706b22a2b5fac4c2f0e Malaria Journal, Vol 8, Iss 1, p 230 (2009) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 article 2009 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-8-230 2022-12-31T00:47:30Z Abstract Background Approximately 40% of the world's population is at risk for malaria. In highly endemic tropical areas, malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality during infancy. There is a complex interrelationship between malaria, malnutrition and intestinal helminths, and this may impair cognitive development in children. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between malaria and school performance in children living in an endemic area where Plasmodium vivax is the species responsible for most of the cases. Methods The study was conducted in the Municipality of Careiro, Amazonas, Brazil, with five to14 year-old children, studying the first eight grades of public school, during the year 2008. After an initial active case detection, during nine months of follow-up, passive malaria cases detection was instituted, through a thick blood smear performed in every child with fever. School performance was evaluated by the final notes in Mathematics and Portuguese Language. Performance was considered poor when either of the final notes in these disciplines was below the 50 th percentile for the respective class and grade. Results The total number of students followed-up in the cohort was 198. Malarial attacks were reported in 70 (35.4%) of these students, with no cases of severe disease. Plasmodium vivax was detected in 69.2% of the attacks, Plasmodium falciparum in 25.5% and both species in 5.3%. In the multivariate analysis, adjusting for age, mother's education, time living in the study area and school absenteeism, presenting with at least one episode of malaria independently predicted a poor performance at school [OR = 1.91 (1.04-3.54); p = 0.039]. Conclusion Non-severe malaria compromises the school performance of children even during a nine-month follow-up, potentially contributing to the maintenance of underdevelopment in countries endemic for malaria. This is the first evidence of such impact in Latin America, where P. vivax is responsible for the majority of the cases. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Malaria Journal 8 1 230 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Lacerda Marcus VG Pinheiro Tamam RA Reyes-Lecca Roberto C Vitor-Silva Sheila Malaria is associated with poor school performance in an endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
description |
Abstract Background Approximately 40% of the world's population is at risk for malaria. In highly endemic tropical areas, malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality during infancy. There is a complex interrelationship between malaria, malnutrition and intestinal helminths, and this may impair cognitive development in children. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between malaria and school performance in children living in an endemic area where Plasmodium vivax is the species responsible for most of the cases. Methods The study was conducted in the Municipality of Careiro, Amazonas, Brazil, with five to14 year-old children, studying the first eight grades of public school, during the year 2008. After an initial active case detection, during nine months of follow-up, passive malaria cases detection was instituted, through a thick blood smear performed in every child with fever. School performance was evaluated by the final notes in Mathematics and Portuguese Language. Performance was considered poor when either of the final notes in these disciplines was below the 50 th percentile for the respective class and grade. Results The total number of students followed-up in the cohort was 198. Malarial attacks were reported in 70 (35.4%) of these students, with no cases of severe disease. Plasmodium vivax was detected in 69.2% of the attacks, Plasmodium falciparum in 25.5% and both species in 5.3%. In the multivariate analysis, adjusting for age, mother's education, time living in the study area and school absenteeism, presenting with at least one episode of malaria independently predicted a poor performance at school [OR = 1.91 (1.04-3.54); p = 0.039]. Conclusion Non-severe malaria compromises the school performance of children even during a nine-month follow-up, potentially contributing to the maintenance of underdevelopment in countries endemic for malaria. This is the first evidence of such impact in Latin America, where P. vivax is responsible for the majority of the cases. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lacerda Marcus VG Pinheiro Tamam RA Reyes-Lecca Roberto C Vitor-Silva Sheila |
author_facet |
Lacerda Marcus VG Pinheiro Tamam RA Reyes-Lecca Roberto C Vitor-Silva Sheila |
author_sort |
Lacerda Marcus VG |
title |
Malaria is associated with poor school performance in an endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon |
title_short |
Malaria is associated with poor school performance in an endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon |
title_full |
Malaria is associated with poor school performance in an endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon |
title_fullStr |
Malaria is associated with poor school performance in an endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon |
title_full_unstemmed |
Malaria is associated with poor school performance in an endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon |
title_sort |
malaria is associated with poor school performance in an endemic area of the brazilian amazon |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-8-230 https://doaj.org/article/00223f89401a4706b22a2b5fac4c2f0e |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
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Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Malaria Journal, Vol 8, Iss 1, p 230 (2009) |
op_relation |
http://www.malariajournal.com/content/8/1/230 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-8-230 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/00223f89401a4706b22a2b5fac4c2f0e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-8-230 |
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Malaria Journal |
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8 |
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230 |
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