Parasitic infections, Anaemia and nutritional status of adolescents in rural Zambia

A Study of 414 rural primary schoolchildren with high prevalence of undernutrition was conducted to determine the relationships between parasitic infections, anaemia and nutritional status. It was found that the mean values for weight‐for‐age, a measure of undernutrition, decreased sharply with increasing age and they varied significantly with the month when the survey was undertaken. It was also found that anaemia was significantly associated with weight‐for‐age percent, weight‐for‐height percent and weight, anthropometric measurements which are susceptible to short‐term fluctuations. Hookworm infection was found to be associated with weight‐for‐age percent only. Multiple regression analysis showed that the presence of anaemia was by far the most important variable of those studied explaining variations in nutritional status of the schoolchildren in this area. Thus, we conclude that parasitic infections may be contributing to the poor growth of the children in this area. The findings in this study suggest that treatment and control of hookworm disease, urinary schistosomiasis and malaria deserve high priority in this area.

Key words:

• Parasitic infection
• anaemia
• nutritional status.