title: [Giardia duodenalis and chronic malnutrition in children under five from a rural area of Guinea-Bissau].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malnutrition and infections by intestinal parasites such as Giardia duodenalis coexist in the same geographical regions, reaching the highest prevalence in developing countries. The cycle of malnutrition and infection implies that both conditions can aggravate each other and compromise the growth and development of children with special relevance for under-five. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between chronic malnutrition and infection by G. duodenalis in children under five in a rural community in Guinea-Bissau.
  
  
  METHODS
  A case-control study that included 109 children aged 0 to 59 months of a rural community in Guinea-Bissau was conducted. The anthropometric assessment of children in the study identified 31 cases of chronic malnutrition (z-score height for age < -2) and 78 controls (z-score height for age = -2). Microscopic examination of stools was performed for detection and identification of G. duodenalis and other parasites.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The microscopic analysis of stool samples revealed G. duodenalis infection in 29.0% (9/31) of cases and 35.9% (28/78) of controls. No association between the infection with G. duodenalis and chronic malnutrition in children under study could be established.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results reinforce the interest in designing further studies exploring this association in different regions and epidemiological settings, while direct to the importance of the criteria for malnutrition definition which influences the subsequent analysis.
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Clínica Tropical. Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal. & Centro de Malária e Doenças Tropicais. Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.
authors.forename: Sónia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Centeno-Lima
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical. Lisboa. Portugal. & Centro de Investigação em Antropologia e Saúde. Universidade de Coimbra. Coimbra. Portugal.
authors.forename: Vítor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rosado-Marques
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Clínica Tropical. Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal. & Centro de Malária e Doenças Tropicais. Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.
authors.forename: Filipa
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Clínica Tropical. Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal. & Centro de Malária e Doenças Tropicais. Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.
authors.forename: Ruben
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Instituto da Biodiversidade e das Áreas Protegidas. Guiné. Guiné-Bissau.
authors.forename: Benjamim
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Indeque
authors.affiliation: Instituto da Biodiversidade e das Áreas Protegidas. Guiné. Guiné-Bissau.
authors.forename: Idrissa
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Camará
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação. Universidade de Coimbra. Coimbra. Portugal.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Sousa
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Epidemiologia e Estatística. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aguiar
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Epidemiologia. Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge. Lisboa. Portugal.
authors.forename: Baltazar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Saúde Pública Internacional e Bioestatística. Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ferrinho
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000469:parasitology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D016829:Giardia lamblia; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000150:complications*; D006169:Guinea-Bissau; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012423:Rural Health; D012424:Rural Population