Blood Pressure and Plasma Levels of Blood Glucose among Subjects Screening by Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test in Indigenous Area, Ondo State

Abstract

Plasmodium falciparum malaria is one of the most devastating diseases and causes an estimated one million deaths, mostly children living in sub-Saharan Africa. There is evidence that higher glucose level increases the attractiveness for Anopheles feeding. This study was initiated to ascertain the reliability of rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for malaria in managing plasma blood glucose and blood pressure among people living in indigenous areas with resource-limited settings. This is a cross sectional study and it was conducted between February to April, 2017. A total number of 150 subjects aged between 18 – 80 years, who were sub-divided into subjects with diabetic mellitus only (Subjects with DM only), subjects with neither DM nor malaria parasite (NDM or MP), subjects with both DM and MP and subjects with MP only attending the clinic were randomly selected for the study. Blood pressure was taken using a sphygmomanometer. Blood levels of fasting blood glucose were determined using standard spectrophotometric method and RDT based on antigens was carried out on aliquots of whole blood. Data obtained were statistically analyzed appropriately. P<0.05 was considered significant. The mean blood level of FBG was significantly lower while the mean level of SBP was significantly higher in subjects with MP positive compared with subjects with MP negative. FBG showed positive significant correlation with SBP in subjects with MP only. In conclusion, this study confirmed that malaria contributes to the development of hypertension and low blood levels of glucose among subjects living in indigenous area.