title: Impact of intermittent preventive anti-malarial treatment on the growth and nutritional status of preschool children in rural Senegal (west Africa).
abstract: Negative consequences of malaria might account for seasonality in nutritional status in children in the Sahel. We report the impact of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of seasonal intermittent preventive anti-malarial treatment on growth and nutritional status in 1,063 Senegalese preschool children. A combination of artesunate and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine was given monthly from September to November. In the intervention arm, mean weight gain was significantly greater (122.9 +/- 340 versus 42.9 +/- 344 [SD] g/mo, P < 0.0001) and losses in triceps and subscapular skinfold measurements were less (-0.39 +/- 1.01 versus -0.66 +/- 1.01 mm/mo, and -0.15 +/- 0.64 versus -0.36 +/- 0.62 mm/mo, respectively, P < 0.0001 for both). There was no difference in height increments. The prevalence of wasting increased significantly in the control arm (4.6% before versus 9.5% after, P < 0.0001), but remained constant in intervention children: 5.6% versus 7.0% (P = 0.62). The prevention of malaria would improve child nutritional status in areas with seasonal transmission.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology and Prevention Research Unit, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier, France and Dakar, Senegal.
authors.forename: Balthazar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ntab
authors.forename: Badara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cissé
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boulanger
authors.forename: Cheikh
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sokhna
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Targett
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lines
authors.forename: Neal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Trape
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Simondon
authors.forename: Brian M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Greenwood
authors.forename: Kirsten B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Simondon
mesh_terms: D000962:Antimalarials / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001827:Body Height / Q000187:drug effects; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000187:drug effects*; D015995:Prevalence; D012675:Senegal / Q000453:epidemiology; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000187:drug effects*