Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the four study groups.
| Variable | Infection/No treatment (n = 100) | No infection/No treatment (n = 100) | Infection/treatment (n = 100) | No infection/Treatment (n = 100) |
| Age (years) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 9.5 (2.0) | 9.3 (1.8) | 9.2 (1.6) | 9.4 (1.8) |
| Sex | ||||
| Male/Female | 55/45 | 47/43 | 50/50 | 54/46 |
| Socioeconomic level | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 2.6 (1.1) | 2.0 (0.9) | 2.2 (0.9) | 1.9 (0/8) |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 15.8 (1.8) | 15.9 (2.5) | 15.6 (1.5) | 16.1 (2.4) |
| Crowding (persons/room) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 2.7 (1.2) | 2.4 (1.2) | 2.8 (1.1) | 2.4 (1.1) |
| Geohelminth prevalence (%) | ||||
| Any | 100 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| A. lumbricoides | 75 | 0 | 73 | 0 |
| T. trichiura | 76 | 0 | 80 | 0 |
| Hookworm | 19 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| S. stercoralis | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Intensity, GM (range) epg | ||||
| A. lumbricoides | 5,658 (70–227,500) | 0 | 6,512 (70–182,700) | 0 |
| T. trichiura | 602 (70–40,250) | 0 | 583 (70–13,720) | 0 |
| Number of albendazole treatments | ||||
| 0 | 98% | 97% | 0% | 0% |
| 1–3 | 2% | 2% | 4% | 0% |
| 4–6 | 0% | 0% | 3% | 8% |
| 7 | 0% | 1% | 93% | 92% |
GM – geometric mean. SD – standard deviation. Epg – eggs per gramme of stool. Anthelmintic treatments were with single doses of 400 mg of albendazole.