Anemia and Its Correlation with Parasite Infections in Children from Riverside Communities in the Brazilian Amazon: A Public Health Problem?

Abstract

Aims: To identify the prevalence and the determinants of anemia as well as its correlation to enteroparasitosis in a population of Riverside children living at two communities at the Northeast region of Pará, Brasil. Study Design: Population based cross-sectional and epidemiological study. Place and Duration of the Study: Pharmacy College, at Federal University of Pará, and Lights in the Amazon program, between May/2013 and June/2015. Methods: The biological material for the blood screening was obtained through venal aspiration in a tube containing EDTA and anticoagulant. Later, these samples were taken to the Hematology Laboratory at the School of Pharmacy at the Federal University of Pará. To determinate the presence and type of enteroparasitosis, feces samples were collected, later being subjected to the qualitative method of Lutz or Hoffman Pons and Janer. The correlation between anemia and its determinants was analyzed using PRISMA 5.0. Results: Out of 98 children, 16 (16.32%) were anemic, out of which 14 (87.5%) were infected by parasites, 3 of them by one type and 11 by two or more different parasites. The non-anemic and infected by at least one parasite ones were 47 (47.96%). Regarding the incidence of parasites, Trichuris trichiura (67%), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (26%), were the most prevalent. The multiple logistic regressions between anemia and infection by one or multiple parasites showed significance for multiple-parasite infections (P = .05). The association between anemia and infection by parasites, measured by the Odds Ratio test among the four groups was statistically significant (OR: 5.21; IC 95%:1.11-24.43; P = .05). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that the incidence of anemia on the target riverside children population is still a persistent public health issue as well as the increased prevalence of enteroparasites.