The association of malaria morbidity with linear growth, hemoglobin, iron status, and development in young Malawian children: a prospective cohort study

Table 3 Association of infectious disease morbidity from age 6 to 18 mo with hemoglobin, anemia and iron deficiency at age 18 mo

Variables	Mean hemoglobin (g/L) at age 18 mo		Anemia^a at age 18 mo		Iron deficiency^b at age 18 mo
	(N = 1157)		(N = 1157)		(N = 1707)
	Regression coefficient^c	P-value	Risk ratio^d	P-value	Risk ratio^d	P-value
	(95% CI)	P-value	(95% CI)	P-value	(95% CI)	P-value
Incidence^e of ‘presumed’ malaria	−0.43 (− 1.21 to 0.34)	0.273	1.02 (1.00 to 1.04)	0.014	1.01 (0.99 to 1.02)	0.223
> 1 malaria episodes (vs no malaria episode)	−1.80 (−3.74 to 0.14)	0.068	1.14 (1.02 to 1.27)	0.022	1.05 (0.95 to 1.17)	0.304
Incidence^e of diarrhea	0.01 (−0.06 to 0.08)	0.767	1.00 (0.99 to 1.01)	0.370	1.00 (0.99 to 1.01)	0.776
Incidence^e of ARI	0.09 (− 0.11 to 0.31)	0.392	1.00 (0.99 to 1.01)	0.671	1.00 (0.99 to 1.01)	0.772
Other predictors^f:
WLZ at age 6 mo	1.10 (0.21 to 1.99)	0.015	0.98 (0.94 to 1.02)	0.248	0.99 (0.96 to 1.03)	0.811
Hemoglobin (g/L) at age 6 mo	0.21 (0.15 to 0.28)	< 0.001	0.98 (0.97 to 0.99)	< 0.001	1.05 (0.96 to 1.14)	0.283
ZPP > 70 μmole/mole heme at age 6 mo	−0.64 (− 2.42 to 1.14)	0.483	1.03 (0.92 to 1.15)	0.632	1.95 (1.71 to 2.23)	< 0.001

ARI acute respiratory infection, CI confidence interval, WLZ weight for length z-score, ZPP zinc protoporphyrin
^aDefined as blood hemoglobin concentration < 110 g/L [29]
^bDefined as whole blood ZPP > 70 μmol/mole heme [27]
^cObtained by ordinary least squares regression
^dObtained by modified poisson regression (with a robust variance estimator)
^eTotal episodes/child years at risk
^fOnly predictors that showed statistical significance in any of the multivariate models are presented. Other variables entered in the regression, but not significant in any model, were: length for age z-score at age 6 mo; child sex; maternal education; household food insecurity access score; and whether the child received an intervention (lipid-based nutrient supplements) during the study period

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