Urinary schistosomiasis and anemia among school-aged children from southwestern Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Schistosomiasis and anemia, are one of the leading global public health problem among children between age 5 and 14 years in marginalized settings. In this study, we provide prevalence and intensity data for both conditions in three southwestern states of Nigeria, where such are lacking. Epidemiological assessment involving parasitological analysis of urine and blood samples was conducted among 1783 consenting school-aged children in Ondo, Osun, Ekiti States of Nigeria. Participants’ age and sex data were obtained using field forms, and statistical analysis was performed in R software with a significance level of 95%. An overall prevalence of 26.8% and 29.5% was recorded for urinary schistosomiasis and anemia, respectively. Prevalence varied by location with (40.3% and 29.8%) in Ondo (34.4% and 37.5%) in Osun and (13.4% and 20.9%) in Ekiti for urinary schistosomiasis and anemia, respectively (p=0.00). Schistosoma infections were found among males (28.7%, p=0.05) and children between the age 9–11 years (30.0%, p=0.01). About 36% of children with anemia was also infected with schistosomiasis. Children who were positive for schistosomiasis (OR:1.51; 95% CI: 1.19, 1.93; p=0.001) and between the age category 15–16 years, (OR:1.86; 95% CI: 1.12, 3.09; p<0.05) were twice likely to become anemic. Our findings have shown that children infected with schistosomiasis are twice likely to become anemic than those without infection. It is important to complement ongoing MDA programmes targeted at schistosomiasis with nutrition intervention programs for example micronutrient supplementation for better impact and cost-effectiveness.

KEYWORDS:

• Urinary schistosomiasis
• School-aged children
• Anemia
• Microhaematuria
• Nigeria

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the community leaders, school authorities and parents across the study areas

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Supporting files

S1 : Field Form

Ethics statement and considerations

The study protocol was approved by the ethical review board of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR/MR/15.S). Requisite approvals and field permits were also obtained from the three study states prior to commencement of data collection. Permissions were also obtained from school authorities and parents of the study participants. Only children who were above 6 years of age, and whose parents consented to their participation through a written informed consent, were invited to participate in the study. Children’s assent was obtained verbally and also documented through an assent form in the presence of the class teacher. Unique identifiers and a password protected database were also used to ensure anonymity and confidentiality through the study procedures. The study procedures were implemented in accordance with the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration (1964, amended most recently in 2008) of the World Medical Association.

Additional information

Funding

This work received partial support from the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research Grant for studies on Neglected Tropical Diseases [Grant number 0000134].