Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
1994-9-29
pubmed:abstractText
Anemia is an increasingly recognized health problem in African children. To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for anemia in young children, we enrolled 252 pregnant women and studied their newborn infants in Mangochi District in southern Malawi. At the first follow-up visit after birth at approximately two months of age, the mean hematocrit value of the 252 infants was 29.5%, and 64 infants (25%) were anemic (hematocrit value < 25%). Placental malaria infection was the strongest risk factor for an infant having anemia at the first follow-up (relative risk = 2.0, P = 0.003). Infants who had Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia at the first follow-up had lower hematocrit values than infants without parasitemia (median 28% versus 31%; P = 0.02). Neither the mother's hematocrit at enrollment, her hematocrit at delivery, sex of the infant, nor fever illness in the infant was associated with having a hematocrit less than 25% at the first follow-up. Although infants with hematocrit values less than 25% were more likely than infants with higher hematocrit values to die during the first year of life, this difference was not statically significant (relative risk = 1.7, P = 0.15). In rural Malawi, anemia commonly affects young infants, is acquired early in life, and is probably a risk factor for death in infancy. Strategies to reduce anemia in infants must address P. falciparum infection, both during pregnancy and in the first few months of life.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
AIM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
0002-9637
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
51
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
170-4
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1994
pubmed:articleTitle
Risk factors for anemia in young children in rural Malawi.
pubmed:affiliation
Division of Parasitic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article