Relationship between nutritional status and intensity of common intestinal helminths among children in Enugu, south-east Nigeria

Ilechukwu, GC; Ilechukwu, C; Ubesie, Agozie C; Onyire, NB; Emechebe, GO; Eze, JC

doi:10.4103/2141-9248.138027

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Interestingly, we found results contrary to this hypothesis in the study by Ubesie et al 20 in Africa, more specifically in southwestern Nigeria. Sixty-five percent of the children and adolescents were eutrophic, and 2% were underweight.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Comparison of nutritional status and growth curves of children and adolescents in the city of Goiânia, Goiás: cross-sectional study

et al. 2024

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The World Health Organization (WHO) considers children people aged between 0 and 10 years, and adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age. 1 The prevalence of children and adolescents in Brazil is around 60 million people. 2 In this age group, several important changes occur over the years, and for an adequate growth process, understanding the variables involved in this stage, such as the factors associated with malnutrition, overweight, and obesity, is essential. 3 Malnutrition is a nutritional status directly related to infant morbidity and mortality, with a prevalence of up to 59% in certain regions such as Timor-Leste, Burundi, Niger, and Madagascar. 4 This nutritional status can affect cognitive development, increase the risk of infections, and contribute to the development of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and coronary diseases. 5 Its etiology is related to food, socioeconomic, maternal conditions, and health services 6 and may even interfere with the negativity in the country's economy. 5 Although the risks associated with malnutrition are concerning, paradoxically, overweight and obesity have become increasingly frequent among children and young people. 7,8 This can contribute to the early development of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular and metabolic, 9 and may reduce the life expectancy of this population. 10 In a study conducted by 11 evidence was found that the transition between adolescence and adulthood represents a period of risk for increased overweight and obesity regardless of sex. Therefore, monitoring nutritional status during the growth period can contribute to the prevention of these factors.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Comparison of nutritional status and growth curves of children and adolescents in the city of Goiânia, Goiás: cross-sectional study

et al. 2024

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“…Our findings are similar to previous studies from Nigeria and the Philippines that have documented no significant differences in prevalence of STH infections between malnourished and well-nourished children [18, 31, 32]. By contrast, two other Nigerian studies reported malnourished children to have higher STH prevalence when compared to healthy children [26, 33], while a study among Zairean children reported a lower prevalence in children with SAM [34].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

A comparative cross-sectional study of prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminthic infection between healthy and severe acutely malnourished pre-school aged children in Kano, Northern Nigeria

et al. 2019

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BackgroundSoil-transmitted helminthic (STH) infections are common in Sub-Saharan Africa. One method used for control of these helminths is mass anti-helminthic administration in populations at risk of STH infections. In this regard, empiric treatment of children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) for STH infection is practiced in this region. It is however unclear if children with SAM suffer more from STH infection than healthy children. The objective of this study was to compare prevalence and intensity of STH infection between pre-school aged children with SAM and healthy children.MethodsWe approached 1114 pre-school aged children attending care in two health facilities in Kano, Nigeria to partake in this study. Of this number, we recruited 620 (55.7%) children, comprising 310 well-nourished children from well-baby clinics and 310 children with SAM from Community Management for Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) centres in these facilities. We assessed their nutritional status using World Health Organisation (WHO) growth charts and collected stool samples which we analysed using Formal-Ether Concentration technique to identify STH infection and Stoll’s technique to assess intensities of STH infection. We fitted a logistic regression model to determine if there was any association between nutrition status and helminthic infection, adjusting for the confounding effects of socio-economic status and age. We compared intensity of STH infection (measured as eggs per gram of faeces) between both nutrition groups using the independent t-test.ResultsOverall STH prevalence in our population was low (2.7%) and we found no significant association between nutritional status and presence of STH infection (OR = 1.10, 95% CI 0.38 to 3.21). Majority of our study participants had either low or moderate (94.2%) and there was no statistically significant difference between intensity of STH infection (t value = − 1.52, P value = 0.13) in children with SAM and those who were well-nourished.ConclusionsThe overall STH prevalence among pre-school children was low in Kano and we did not find prevalence and intensity of STH infection to differ significantly between preschool children with SAM and well-nourished children. Our findings confirm the WHO recommendation that at low levels of prevalence and intensity, interventions to control STH are unnecessary.

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“…Children in low-income countries are prone to helminth infections (see as an example [ 28 , 39 – 41 ], a phenomenon suspected to be potentially associated with chronic undernutrition [ 11 , 42 ]. It is surprising that no helminths were found in the stool specimens given the high burden of chronic malnutrition, the still wide-spread use of non-improved well water by 239 of the 414 families (58%) and the socio-economic challenges facing the people of the CAR,.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with stunting in healthy children aged 5 years and less living in Bangui (RCA)

et al. 2017

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Stunting remains a major public health concern worldwide. Although its global prevalence is slowly decreasing, the actual number of affected children is still rising in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the Central African Republic (CAR), about one third of all children below the age of five are stunted. Stunting is correlated with many long-term consequences, including poor cognitive development and a higher rate of morbidity and mortality, making stunting a major contributor to poverty. In CAR, little is known about the factors that contribute to stunting. This study aimed at analysing, in a cross-sectional study, the main factors associated with stunting in a group of 414 children recruited between December 2011 and November 2013, aged five years or less and living in Bangui. For all children, demographic, socio-economic and anthropometric data were recorded and asymptomatic enteropathogen carriage was assessed in stool samples using classical microbiological assays. The study group had a mean age of 14.2±10 months. Fifty-eight percent (292/414) were boys, and 36 percent (148/414) exhibited stunted growth. Of the stunted children, 51% (75/148) showed a moderate delay in linear growth for their age group [height-for-age z-score (HAZ) between -2 and -3 SD] while 49% (73/148) presented a severe delay (HAZ < -3). Factors significantly associated with stunting included gender (aOR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.07; 2.62 for boys compared to girls) and age (aOR of 3.98 (95% CI: 2.45; 6.46) for toddlers and aOR 4.42 (95% CI: 2.36; 8.28) for children compared to infants). Most importantly, we identified being overweight [weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) > 2 SD; aOR: 3.21; 95% CI: 1.50; 6.90 of overweight compared to normal weight] as also being significantly associated with stunting. This is the first study showing that even in the poorest countries of the world there is an association of stunting with being overweight.

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Relationship between nutritional status and intensity of common intestinal helminths among children in Enugu, south-east Nigeria

Cited by 6 publications

References 5 publications

Comparison of nutritional status and growth curves of children and adolescents in the city of Goiânia, Goiás: cross-sectional study

Comparison of nutritional status and growth curves of children and adolescents in the city of Goiânia, Goiás: cross-sectional study

A comparative cross-sectional study of prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminthic infection between healthy and severe acutely malnourished pre-school aged children in Kano, Northern Nigeria

Factors associated with stunting in healthy children aged 5 years and less living in Bangui (RCA)

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