title: Prevalence and risk factors of Plasmodium falciparum infections in pregnant women of Luanda, Angola.
abstract: Pregnant women are at increased risk of malaria, but in Angola, epidemiologic data from this group is almost inexistent. We conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence and risk factors of Plasmodium falciparum infections in 567 pregnant Angolan women living in Luanda province. One in five women had P. falciparum at delivery, diagnosed by PCR assay. Age, residence and history of malaria during pregnancy were significantly associated with P. falciparum infection, but gravidity and use of anti-malarial drugs were not. Placental infections were significantly more common in women ≤18 years old and in primigravidae, but we could not correlate placental infections with poor pregnancy outcomes. These findings are relevant to malaria control policies in Luanda, Angola.
authors: Centro de Malária e outras Doenças Tropicais, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors: Bianor
authors: B
authors: Valente
authors: Paulo A
authors: PA
authors: Campos
authors: Virgílio E
authors: VE
authors: do Rosário
authors: Luis
authors: L
authors: Varandas
authors: Henrique
authors: H
authors: Silveira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000810:Angola / Q000453:epidemiology; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000469:parasitology; D020073:Gravidity; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D010298:Parity; D010920:Placenta / Q000469:parasitology; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials