Effect of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth infections on physical fitness of school children in Côte d'Ivoire.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
; 5(7): e1239, 2011 Jul.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21811643
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis are important public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa causing malnutrition, anemia, and retardation of physical and cognitive development. However, the effect of these diseases on physical fitness remains to be determined.METHODOLOGY:
We investigated the relationship between schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis and physical performance of children, controlling for potential confounding of Plasmodium spp. infections and environmental parameters (i.e., ambient air temperature and humidity). A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 156 school children aged 7-15 years from Côte d'Ivoire. Each child had two stool and two urine samples examined for helminth eggs by microscopy. Additionally, children underwent a clinical examination, were tested for Plasmodium spp. infection with a rapid diagnostic test, and performed a maximal multistage 20 m shuttle run test to assess their maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2) max) as a proxy for physical fitness. PRINCIPALFINDINGS:
The prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium, Plasmodium spp., Schistosoma mansoni, hookworm and Ascaris lumbricoides infections was 85.3%, 71.2%, 53.8%, 13.5% and 1.3%, respectively. Children with single, dual, triple, quadruple and quintuple species infections showed VO(2) max of 52.7, 53.1, 52.2, 52.6 and 55.6 ml kg(-1) min(-1), respectively. The VO(2) max of children with no parasite infections was 53.5 ml kg(-1) min(-1). No statistically significant difference was detected between any groups. Multivariable analysis revealed that VO(2) max was influenced by sex (reference female, coef.â=â4.02, p<0.001) and age (years, coef.â=â-1.23, p<0.001), but not by helminth infection and intensity, Plasmodium spp. infection, and environmental parameters. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE:
School-aged children in Côte d'Ivoire showed good physical fitness, irrespective of their helminth infection status. Future studies on children's physical fitness in settings where helminthiasis and malaria co-exist should include pre- and post-intervention evaluations and the measurement of hemoglobin and hematocrit levels and nutritional parameters as potential co-factors to determine whether interventions further improve upon fitness.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Schistosomiasis
/
Physical Fitness
/
Helminthiasis
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
En
Journal:
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
Journal subject:
MEDICINA TROPICAL
Year:
2011
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: