Gestational Malaria: Assessment of its Consequences on Fetal Growth
Abstract
In a region of Africa (Nord-Kivu, Zaire) where malaria is endemic, circulating malaria parasites, malaria-associated placental lesions, and a low hemoglobin level (< 10 g/dl) were observed, either singly or in combination, in 73.1% of women (n = 461) delivering at the maternity hospital. These pathologic findings were associated with low birthweight in 18.1% of the newborns, whereas the prevalence of low birthweight was 6.4% among cases without these findings (P < 0.05). Parasitemia was observed in 17.4% of all mothers and was associated with a significant decrease in birthweight. Malaria-associated lesions were found in 52.5% of all placentas and were associated with a decrease in birthweight, head circumference, and ponderal index of the newborns. Such lesions were more frequently observed among primiparae (60.5%) than among multiparae (49.5%; P < 0.05). Lastly, a low hemoglobin level, found in 38.6% of the mothers, was associated with a decrease in birthweight, length, and head circumference. The differences in the physical effects associated with each of the pathologic conditions suggest that parasitemia, placental lesions, and anemia result in acute, subacute, and chronic impairment of fetal growth, respectively. Moreover, their deleterious effects may be cumulative, since the most dramatically affected physical patterns were found when the pathologic findings were associated in the same patient. Frequent antenatal monitoring of maternal hemoglobin and parasitemia, accompanied, when necessary, with curative treatments, may help to reduce the prevalence of intrauterine growth retardation and its procession of perinatal complications.
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Similar to placental blood smear, placental histology is more sensitive than peripheral blood smear for detecting pregnancy malaria.
“Similar to placental BS, placental histology is more sensitive than peripheral BS for detecting PM (33 vs 21%, respectively, and 52.5 vs 17.4%, respectively) [67,68].”
From Diagnosing malaria in pregnancy: An update (2012) · cites this paper as [68]
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- Authors
- Meuris, S., Piko, B. B., Eerens, P., Vanbellinghen, A.-M., Dramaix, M., & Hennart, P.
- Affiliations
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE)
- ORCID
- Meuris, Sylvain
- Venue
- The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
- Published
- 1993-05
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 603-609
- ISSN
- 0002-9637 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1838023349
- Cited by
- 71
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2023: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 3.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Malaria Research and Control
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Pregnancy and preeclampsia studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
- Keywords
- malaria in pregnancy, fetal growth restriction, low birth weight, anemia in pregnancy, primiparous women, head circumference, antenatal monitoring, perinatal complications
- MeSH terms
- Anthropometry, Birth Weight, Female, Embryonic and Fetal Development, Fetal Growth Retardation, Hemoglobins, Humans, Infant, Low Birth Weight, Infant, Newborn, Male, Parity, Placenta, Pregnancy, Sex Factors, Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic, Malaria, Falciparum
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