Association between nutritional status, environmental and socio-economic factors and Giardia lamblia infections among children aged 6–71 months in Brazil

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted on a randomised sample of 405 children aged 6-71 months in Brazil to investigate the association between nutritional status, environmental and socio-economic factors and Giardialamblia infection. Data collection entailed an interview, anthropometric measurements and the collection of faeces and venous blood samples. The analysis was performed using multivariate logistic regression. The prevalence rate for G. lamblia was 26.3%. Nutritional status evaluation showed that 7.9% of the children had chronic malnutrition and 11.1% had acute malnutrition. The risk factors associated with infection by G. lamblia were an age of 2 years or older [odds ratio (OR)=2.4], living in a two-bedroom house or smaller (OR=2.3), living among a family of five or more people (OR=2.4) and living in a house without access to a sewerage system (OR=2.1). Non-participation in the social service programme was associated with a lower risk of infection (OR=0.2). The model adjusted for age, including only biochemical and nutritional variables, showed weak associations with G. lamblia infection for two variables: inadequate animal protein intake according to the Dietary Reference Intake recommendation and low haemoglobin concentration. The sociodemographic and environmental risk factors classically described were associated with G. lamblia infection, but nutritional variables were only weakly associated with it.

Epidemiological, parasitological and molecular aspects of Giardia duodenalis infection in children attending public daycare centers in southeastern Brazil

“…1 Most studies of this parasite have found that young children are the most infected, but no correlation between giardiasis and age was found in this investigation. This finding does not corroborate the results reported by Quihui et al 14 and Ostan et al, 15 who found a correlation.…”

“…Giardia duodenalis is the most frequent protozoon among the endoparasites, with prevalence rates of 23-30% in developing countries and of 2-5% in industrialized countries. 1 Giardia duodenalis (synonyms: G. lamblia, G. intestinalis) is a common endoparasite in humans and in domestic and wild animals throughout the world, 2 infesting the small intestines of young individuals, especially in their early years. Most infections are asymptomatic and, when present, symptoms vary from diarrhea to abdominal pain to poor intestinal absorption, and the infection is responsible for retarding the growth and development of individuals.…”

Prediction of Child Health by Household Density and Asset-Based Indices in Impoverished Indigenous Villages in Rural Panamá

“…However, because the frequency of exclusively breastfed children was low in our study population (personal observation), we did not include it in our analysis. In Peru, children more than two years of age were more likely to be infected with protozoans, 53 whereas no relationship was detected between age and persistent Giardia spp. infections (lasting !…”

Giardia intestinalis infection associated with malnutrition in children living in northeastern Brazil

“…For instance, the anthropometric parameter HAZ has been shown to be markedly negatively influenced by giardiasis in the Amazon region of Brazil [10]. G. intestinalis infection was also observed to influence nutritional status in northeastern Brazil [31][32][33]. In Rwanda, G. intestinalis infection was identified as a predictor of being underweight and severe malnutrition [30].…”