The impact of gravidity, symptomatology and timing of infection on placental malaria

Malaria Journal

Table 1 Characteristics of study participants by placental malaria status

Variable	Placental malaria status in pregnancy
Variable	No placental malaria (n = 127)	Placental malaria (n = 101)	p value
Maternal age, years	22.7 (19.9–25.7)	19.0 (17.9–21.3)	< 0.001
Primigravid	23 (18.1)	64 (63.4)	< 0.001
BMI, kg/m²	20.6 (19.0–22.2)	21.0 (19.7–22.7)	0.08
Twin gestation^a	0 (0.0)	4 (4.0)	0.04
GA at enrollment, weeks	14.7 (13.6–15.9)	15.3 (14.0–17.6)	0.003
Household wealth index			0.80
Lowest tertile	46 (36.2)	37 (36.6)
Middle tertile	42 (33.1)	37 (36.6)
Highest tertile	39 (30.7)	27 (26.7)
Intermittent preventive therapy drug			0.01
Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine	40 (31.5)	49 (48.5)s
Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine	87 (68.5)	52 (51.5)
GA at delivery, weeks	40.0 (39.0–40.9)	39.3 (38.0–40.3)	< 0.001
Preterm birth < 37 weeks GA	6 (4.7)	15 (14.9)	0.01
Very preterm birth < 32 weeks GA	1 (0.8)	4 (4.0)	0.17
Low birth weight^b	10 (7.9)	19 (18.8)	0.01
Small for gestational age^c	19 (15.0)	26 (25.7)	0.04
Stillbirth	0 (0.0)	2 (2.0)	0.09
Neonatal demise^d (N = 224)	4 (3.2)	0 (0.0)	0.13

BMI body mass index, GA gestational age, SGA small for gestational age
Statistically significant p values (< 0.05) are indicated in italics
^aInformation missing for 1 patient
^bDefined as birthweight < 2500 g
^cDefined as birthweight < 10%ile for GA based on East African growth standards.¹⁵
^dData unavailable for four patients including two in the peripheral malaria group and 2 in the placental malaria group
Data are presented as median (interquartile range) or n (%). Wilcoxon Rank Sum and Chi squared or Fischer Exact tests were used to compare nonparametric continuous variables and proportions, respectively. Pregnancies with peripheral malaria only (without placental malaria) and pregnancies with placental malaria are the comparison groups for the p values

ISSN: 1475-2875