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Iron Status of Malaria Patients in Douala - Cameroon |
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Gouado Inocent,
Djuidje N. Marceline,
Pankoui M.J. Bertrand and Fotso K. Honore |
Abstract:
In Africa, anaemia associated with malaria infection is a major cause of childhood
morbidity and mortality. Problem of severe anemia linked to malaria is increasing
as antimalarial drugs resistant parasites are widespread throughout Africa. In
Cameroon, malaria turns out to be the major disease with the higher number of
annual deaths, especially among children under fives and pregnant women. To assess
the iron status among malarial patients in Douala where malaria is endemic, 163
malarial subjects (aged 0 to 60 years) and 98 uninfected volunteer subjects (aged
between 0 - 65 years) were screened for this study. Iron status was evaluated
using three biochemical (Serum Iron: SI, Total Iron Binding Capacity: TIBC and
Transferrin Saturation: TS) and five haematological (Haemoglobin: HGB, Haematocrit:
HTC, Mean Cell Volume: MCV, Mean Cell Haemoglobin: MCH and Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin
Concentration: MCHC) parameters. It was observed that 41.7% and 63.20% of malaria
patients were serum iron and haemoglobin deficient respectively. Moreover, the
rates of SI, TS, HGB, HTC, MCV and MCH were significantly lower in malarial than
controls (P<0.01). However, the TIBC rates were significantly higher among
the malarial in comparison with the uninfected subjects (P<0.01). This rate
decreased with age while HGB, HTC and MCV percentages increased with age. Parasitic
density is higher in patients aged between 0 - 3 years than those between 4 -
25 years and between 26 - 60 years of age. We noticed significant (P<0.01)
increase of SI with moderate parasitemia. Significant correlations (P<0.001)
were observed among malarial. Malaria negatively affects iron status, but we need
further research on iron metabolism for the better comprehension of the mechanism
by which Plasmodium falciparum interact with iron status.
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How to cite this article:
Gouado Inocent, Djuidje N. Marceline, Pankoui M.J. Bertrand and Fotso K. Honore, 2008. Iron Status of Malaria Patients in Douala - Cameroon. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 7: 620-624.
DOI: 10.3923/pjn.2008.620.624
URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=pjn.2008.620.624
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