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Cited by 46Malaria Research and ControlBirth, Development, and HealthChild Nutrition and Water Access

Placental Malaria is associated with reduced early life weight development of affected children independent of low birth weight

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Walther, Brigitte, Miles, David JC, Crozier, Sarah, Waight, Pauline, Palmero, Melba S, Ojuola, Olubukola, Touray, Ebrima, Sande, Marianne van der +3 more·2010·Malaria Journal
DOI 10.1186/1475-2875-9-16PMC PMC2841609
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Infection with Plasmodium falciparum during pregnancy contributes substantially to the disease burden in both mothers and offspring. Placental malaria may lead to intrauterine growth restriction or preterm delivery resulting in low birth weight (LBW), which, in general, is associated with increased infant morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the possible direct impact of the specific disease processes occurring in PM on longer term outcomes such as subsequent retarded growth development independent of LBW. METHODS: In an existing West-African cohort, 783 healthy infants with a birth weight of at least 2,000 g were followed up during their first year of life. The aim of the study was to investigate if Plasmodium falciparum infection of the placenta, assessed by placental histology, has an impact on several anthropometric parameters, measured at birth and after three, six and 12 months using generalized estimating equations models adjusting for moderate low birth weight. RESULTS: Independent of LBW, first to third born infants who were exposed to either past, chronic or acute placental malaria during pregnancy had significantly lower weight-for-age (-0.43, 95% CI: -0.80;-0.07), weight-for-length (-0.47, 95% CI: -0.84; -0.10) and BMI-for-age z-scores (-0.57, 95% CI: -0.84; -0.10) compared to infants born to mothers who were not diagnosed with placental malaria (p = 0.019, 0.013, and 0.012, respectively). Interestingly, the longitudinal data on histology-based diagnosis of PM also document a sharp decline of PM prevalence in the Sukuta cohort from 16.5% in 2002 to 5.4% in 2004. CONCLUSIONS: It was demonstrated that PM has a negative impact on the infant's subsequent weight development that is independent of LBW, suggesting that the longer term effects of PM have been underestimated, even in areas where malaria transmission is declining.

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  • Malaria infection during pregnancy influences infant's growth, independently of low birth weight.

    “A recent study in The Gambia has showed that malaria infection during pregnancy influences infant’s growth, independently of LBW.54”

    From Malaria in pregnancy. (2013) · cites this paper as [54]

    The Conclusions report that placental malaria exposure during pregnancy negatively affected infant growth independently of low birth weight. The Discussion limits the poorer weight-gain finding to first- through third-born infants, not fourth-born or later children; the citing sentence omits that qualification. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Walther, B., Miles, D. J., Crozier, S., Waight, P., Palmero, M. S., Ojuola, O., Touray, E., Sande, M. V. D., Whittle, H., Rowland-Jones, S., & Flanagan, K. L.
Affiliations
  • University of Cape Town (ZA)
  • Southampton General Hospital (GB)
  • Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center (US)
Corresponding author
Walther, Brigitte
ORCID
Venue
Malaria Journal
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2010-01-14
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
16-16
ISSN
1475-2875 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1475-2875-9-16
PMC
PMC2841609
OpenAlex
W2113509689
Cited by
46
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 3
FWCI
3.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Malaria Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • Open University of Cape Town (University of Cape Town) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Rivm (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Imperial College London
  • Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Malaria Research and Control
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
Keywords
placental malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, fetal growth restriction, infant growth, low birth weight, weight-for-age, weight-for-length, body mass index for age, placental histology, malaria in pregnancy, birth cohort, infant anthropometry
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Biopsy, Child, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Gambia, Growth, Growth Disorders, Humans, Infant, Infant, Low Birth Weight, Infant, Newborn, Male, Placenta, Plasmodium falciparum, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Socioeconomic Factors, Cohort Studies, Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic, Prevalence, Malaria, Falciparum, Young Adult

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