Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2012, 9(8), 2910-2921; doi:10.3390/ijerph9082910
Article

Intestinal Helminth Infections and Nutritional Status of Children Attending Primary Schools in Wakiso District, Central Uganda

Francis Lwanga 1,* email, Barbara Eva Kirunda 2 email and Christopher Garimoi Orach 1 email
1 Department of Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Makerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Central Region, +256, Uganda 2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Makerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Central Region, +256, Uganda
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 29 June 2012; in revised form: 21 July 2012 / Accepted: 2 August 2012 / Published: 16 August 2012
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [173 KB, uploaded 16 August 2012 13:46 CEST]
Abstract: A cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence of intestinal helminth infections and nutritional status of primary school children was conducted in the Wakiso district in Central Uganda. A total of 432 primary school children aged 6–14 years were randomly selected from 23 schools. Anthropometric measurements of weight, height, MUAC were undertaken and analyzed using AnthroPlus software. Stool samples were examined using a Kato-Katz method. The prevalence of stunting, underweight and moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) was 22.5%, 5.3% and 18.5% respectively. Males had a threefold risk of being underweight (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.17–9.4, p = 0.011) and 2 fold risk of suffering from MAM (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.21–3.48, p = 0.004). Children aged 10–14 years had a 2.9 fold risk of stunting (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.37–6.16, p = 0.002) and 1.9 risk of MAM (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.07–3.44, p = 0.019). Attending urban slum schools had 1.7 fold risk of stunting (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.03–2.75, p = 0.027). Rural schools presented a twofold risk of helminth infection (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.12–3.32, p = 0.012). The prevalence of helminth infections was (10.9%), (3.1%), (1.9%), (0.2%) for hookworm, Trichuria trichiura, Schistosoma mansoni and Ascaris lumbricoides, respectively. The study revealed that 26.6%, 46% and 10.3% of incidences of stunting, underweight and MAM respectively were attributable to helminth infections.
Keywords: helminths; stunting; underweight; moderate acute malnutrition (MAM); Uganda

Correction

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Lwanga, F.; Kirunda, B.E.; Orach, C.G. Intestinal Helminth Infections and Nutritional Status of Children Attending Primary Schools in Wakiso District, Central Uganda. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2012, 9, 2910-2921.

AMA Style

Lwanga F, Kirunda BE, Orach CG. Intestinal Helminth Infections and Nutritional Status of Children Attending Primary Schools in Wakiso District, Central Uganda. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2012; 9(8):2910-2921.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lwanga, Francis; Kirunda, Barbara Eva; Orach, Christopher Garimoi. 2012. "Intestinal Helminth Infections and Nutritional Status of Children Attending Primary Schools in Wakiso District, Central Uganda." Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 9, no. 8: 2910-2921.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health EISSN 1660-4601 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert