Factors Associated with Anemia in Children with P. vivax Malaria from Brazilian Amazon Basin

Abstract

Anemia is a common and frequently severe consequence of P. vivax infection. The incidence rate and the severity depend on several factors such as age, endemic area, and pregnancy. In Brazilian Amazon basin, only a few studies focused on the factors associated with anemia in children with malaria. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the incidence and the contributing factors for anemia in children with vivax malaria infection. The data were collected during the clinical interviews with the guardians of the children and the hemoglobin levels were measured by spectrophotometric method. The number of children included in the study was 48. The average age was 8 years (range from 6-10 years). The distribution of gender was similar among all the children included in the study, but there was a high occurrence of anemia in female children. At admission, all children reported earlier episodes of malaria as well as had shown signs and symptoms of the disease mainly chills, headache, and gastrointestinal disorders. Anemia was found in 56% of the children included in the study. Hemoglobin levels were not correlated with the parasitemia in both anemic and non-anemic children. However, hemoglobin levels were associated with both the gender and the presence of fever at admission. The latter may be considered risk factors for anemia in this age group.