Effect of nutrient supplementation on the acquisition of humoral immunity to Plasmodium falciparum in young Malawian children

Table 1 Participant characteristics according to supplementation groups

Characteristics	IFA^a n (%)	MMN^b n (%)	LNS^c n (%)	P value^d
Number of children	145 (33.6)	140 (32.4)	147 (34.0)	0.87
Male	69 (47.6)	61 (43.6)	77 (52.4)	0.32
Parasitaemia by microscopy at 6 months	12 (8.3)	5 (3.6)	5 (3.4)	0.10
Parasitaemia by RDT^e at 6 months	11 (7.6)	10 (7.1)	10 (6.8)	0.97
Haemoglobin level at 6 months, mean ± SD, g/l	102.7 ± 16.7	103.6 ± 16.0	103.7 ± 14.7	0.74
Anaemia^f at 6 months	86 (59.3)	81 (57.9)	84 (57.1)	0.93
Low socioeconomic status	95 (65.5)	75 (53.6)	81 (55.1)	0.08
Mother’s education below median	79 (54.5)	66 (47.1)	80 (54.4)	0.34

^aIron and folic acid supplementation
^bMultiple micronutrient supplementation
^cLipid-based nutrient supplements
^dP value obtained by Kruskal–Wallis test (continuous variables) or Chi square test
^eRapid diagnostic test
^fAnaemia defined as haemoglobin level < 110 g/l (World Health Organization [1])

ISSN: 1475-2875