title: Soil-transmitted helminth infection and nutritional status among urban slum children in Kenya.
abstract: To evaluate the nutritional impact of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 205 pre-school (PSC) and 487 school-aged children (SAC) randomly selected from the surveillance registry of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the Kibera slum in Kenya. Hemoglobin, iron deficiency (ID), vitamin A deficiency (VAD), inflammation, malaria, anthropometry, and STH ova were measured. Poisson regression models evaluated associations between STH and malnutrition outcomes and controlled for confounders. Approximately 40% of PSC and SAC had STH infection, primarily Ascaris and Trichuris; 2.9% of PSC and 1.1% of SAC had high-intensity infection. Malnutrition prevalence among PSC and SAC was anemia (38.3% and 14.0%, respectively), ID (23.0% and 5.0%, respectively), VAD (16.9% and 4.5%, respectively), and stunting (29.7% and 16.9%, respectively). In multivariate analysis, STH in PSC was associated with VAD (prevalence ratio [PR] = 2.2, 95% confidence interval = 1.1-4.6) and ID (PR = 3.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.6-6.6) but not anemia or stunting. No associations were significant in SAC. Integrated deworming and micronutrient supplementation strategies should be evaluated in this population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity and Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Eastern and Southern Africa Centre for International Parasite Control, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya; Global Disease Detection and Emergency Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Parminder S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Suchdev
authors.forename: Stephanie M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Monina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bartoces
authors.forename: Laird J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Ruth
authors.forename: Caitlin M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Worrell
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kanyi
authors.forename: Kennedy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Odero
authors.forename: Ryan E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Wiegand
authors.forename: Sammy M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Njenga
authors.forename: Joel M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.forename: LeAnne M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Fox
mesh_terms: D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D000818:Animals; D001200:Ascaris / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D008288:Malaria / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011204:Poverty Areas; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools; D012987:Soil / Q000469:parasitology*; D014258:Trichuris / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014505:Urban Population; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins; D012987:Soil