Malaria and Helminthic Co-Infection during Pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Minyahil Tadesse Boltena, Ziad El-Khatib, Abraham Sahilemichael Kebede, Benedict Oppong Asamoah, Appiah Seth Christopher Yaw, Kassim Kamara, Phénix Constant Assogba, Andualem Tadesse Boltena, Hawult Taye Adane, Elifaged Hailemeskel and Mulatu Biru
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Minyahil Tadesse Boltena: Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa 1005, Ethiopia
Ziad El-Khatib: Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden
Abraham Sahilemichael Kebede: School of Health and Sports Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4AT, UK
Benedict Oppong Asamoah: Social Medicine and Global Health, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, 22184 Lund, Sweden
Appiah Seth Christopher Yaw: Department of Sociology and Social Work, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 101, Ghana
Kassim Kamara: Directorate of Health Security and Emergencies, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown 00232, Sierra Leone
Phénix Constant Assogba: Research Unit in Applied Microbiology and Pharmacology of Natural Substances, Polytechnic School of Abomey-Calavi, University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi 526, Benin
Andualem Tadesse Boltena: Social Medicine and Global Health, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, 22184 Lund, Sweden
Hawult Taye Adane: Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa 1005, Ethiopia
Elifaged Hailemeskel: Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa 1005, Ethiopia
Mulatu Biru: Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa 1005, Ethiopia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-22

Abstract: Malaria and helminthic co-infection during pregnancy causes fetomaternal haemorrhage and foetal growth retardation. This study determined the pooled burden of pregnancy malaria and helminthic co-infection in sub-Saharan Africa. CINAHL, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were used to retrieve data from the literature, without restricting language and publication year. The Joanna Briggs Institute’s critical appraisal tool for prevalence studies was used for quality assessment. STATA Version 14.0 was used to conduct the meta-analysis. The I 2 statistics and Egger’s test were used to test heterogeneity and publication bias. The random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence at a 95% confidence interval (CI). The review protocol has been registered in PROSPERO, with the number CRD42019144812. In total, 24 studies (n = 14,087 participants) were identified in this study. The pooled analysis revealed that 20% of pregnant women were co-infected by malaria and helminths in sub-Saharan Africa. The pooled prevalence of malaria and helminths were 33% and 35%, respectively. The most prevalent helminths were Hookworm (48%), Ascaris lumbricoides (37%), and Trichuris trichiura (15%). Significantly higher malaria and helminthic co-infection during pregnancy were observed. Health systems in sub-Saharan Africa must implement home-grown innovative solutions to underpin context-specific policies for the early initiation of effective intermittent preventive therapy.

Keywords: co-infection; comorbidity; helminthic infections; pregnancy malaria; sub-Saharan Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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