TY - JOUR
T1 - Association of low birth weight and polyparasitic infection during pregnancy in Lambaréné, Gabon
AU - Honkpéhèdji, Yabo Josiane
AU - Adegbite, Bayode Romeo
AU - Zinsou, Jeannot Fréjus
AU - Dejon-Agobé, Jean Claude
AU - Edoa, Jean Ronald
AU - Zoleko Manego, Rella
AU - McCall, Matthew
AU - Mbong Ngwese, Mirabeau
AU - Lotola Mougeni, Fabrice
AU - Mombo-Ngoma, Ghyslain
AU - Ramharter, Michael
AU - Kremsner, Peter G.
AU - Lell, Bertrand
AU - Yazdanbakhsh, Maria
AU - Esen, Meral
AU - Adegnika, Ayôla Akim
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by European Union (the IDEA study [HEALTH‐F3‐2009‐241642]), and by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (HelmVac2 study [01KA1307] and by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) [TI 03.907]). The funders had no role in study design, decision to publish the study protocol, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2021/8
Y1 - 2021/8
N2 - Objective: To report the prevalence of polyparasitism during pregnancy in the Lambaréné region of Gabon and its association with newborn birth weight. Method: Pregnant women in their third trimester were recruited in a prospective study between November 2011 and March 2015. Parasite infection status was assessed microscopically in stool, urine and blood samples. Maternal demographic and obstetrical characteristics and newborns anthropometric data were collected. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between low birth weight and polyparasitism. Results: 678 of 927 pregnant women were included for analysis with mean age (SD) of 25 (6.8) years. The analysis showed that 69% (468/678) were infected with at least one parasite (Plasmodium spp., Schistosoma spp., soil-transmitted helminths, filarial infections). This comprised of 38% with monoparasitism and 31% polyparasitism. The proportion of newborn babies with a weight below 2500 g (LBW) in our study was 21% (142/678). Compared to pregnant women without infection, women with monoparasitic infection had adjusted Odds Ratio confidence interval 95% CI (aOR [95%CI]) of 1.6 [0.95–2.73], those with two parasites had aOR 95%CI of 2.63 [1.51–4.62], and those with more than two parasites had aOR of 5.08 [2.5–10.38] for delivering a newborn with low birth weight. Conclusion: In Lambaréné, an endemic area for multiple parasite infections, there is a high prevalence of polyparasitism in pregnant women. Polyparasitism is associated with low birth weight. Therefore, there is an urgent need for active screening and treatment of parasite infections in pregnant women to assess the potential public health benefit of such interventions.
AB - Objective: To report the prevalence of polyparasitism during pregnancy in the Lambaréné region of Gabon and its association with newborn birth weight. Method: Pregnant women in their third trimester were recruited in a prospective study between November 2011 and March 2015. Parasite infection status was assessed microscopically in stool, urine and blood samples. Maternal demographic and obstetrical characteristics and newborns anthropometric data were collected. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between low birth weight and polyparasitism. Results: 678 of 927 pregnant women were included for analysis with mean age (SD) of 25 (6.8) years. The analysis showed that 69% (468/678) were infected with at least one parasite (Plasmodium spp., Schistosoma spp., soil-transmitted helminths, filarial infections). This comprised of 38% with monoparasitism and 31% polyparasitism. The proportion of newborn babies with a weight below 2500 g (LBW) in our study was 21% (142/678). Compared to pregnant women without infection, women with monoparasitic infection had adjusted Odds Ratio confidence interval 95% CI (aOR [95%CI]) of 1.6 [0.95–2.73], those with two parasites had aOR 95%CI of 2.63 [1.51–4.62], and those with more than two parasites had aOR of 5.08 [2.5–10.38] for delivering a newborn with low birth weight. Conclusion: In Lambaréné, an endemic area for multiple parasite infections, there is a high prevalence of polyparasitism in pregnant women. Polyparasitism is associated with low birth weight. Therefore, there is an urgent need for active screening and treatment of parasite infections in pregnant women to assess the potential public health benefit of such interventions.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Adult
KW - Birth Weight
KW - Female
KW - Gabon/epidemiology
KW - Humans
KW - Infant, Low Birth Weight
KW - Infant, Newborn
KW - Male
KW - Parasitic Diseases/epidemiology
KW - Pregnancy
KW - Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/epidemiology
KW - Prenatal Care
KW - Young Adult
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85105100501&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13591
DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13591
M3 - Article
C2 - 33860600
SN - 1360-2276
VL - 26
SP - 973
EP - 981
JO - Tropical Medicine & International Health
JF - Tropical Medicine & International Health
IS - 8
ER -