Table 1. Characteristics of study subjects by infection status.
| Uninfected 9 | Malaria in Pregnancy 9 | p-value 10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | n | |||||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 19.7 (4.2) | 92 | 18.5 (2.7) | 45 | 0.064 | |
| Rural residence 1 (%) | 45.0 | 41 | 56.0 | 26 | 0.205 | |
| Welfare (%) | 35.2 | 32 | 43.5 | 20 | 0.344 | |
| ANC visits 2 | 46.0 | 40 | 16.0 | 39 | 0.367 | |
| Hematocrit (%), mean (SD) | 35.8 (4.4) | 75 | 35.1 (3.8) | 39 | 0.338 | |
| Haemoglobin (g/dL), mean (SD) | 11.8 (1.4) | 77 | 11.6 (1.3) | 39 | 0.521 | |
| Anaemia 3 (%) | 26.0 | 20 | 28.2 | 11 | 0.798 | |
| Axillary temperature (°C), mean (SD) | 36.2 (0.4) | 86 | 36.7 (1.2) | 42 | <0.001 | |
| Blood pressure (mmHg), mean (SD) | Systolic | 119.3 (10.5) | 86 | 115.5 (12.5) | 42 | 0.072 |
| Diastolic | 77.5 (7.6) | 86 | 75.0 (10.7) | 42 | 0.112 | |
| Gestational age (weeks), mean (SD) | 39.0 (2) | 91 | 39.1 (1.8) | 43 | 0.947 | |
| Premature 4 (%) | 6.6 | 6 | 7.0 | 3 | 0.934 | |
| C-section | 52.1 | 38 | 40.5 | 17 | 0.231 | |
| Birth weight (g), mean (SD) | 3224.0 (513.9) | 80 | 3102.1 (453.5) | 43 | 0.194 | |
| Low birthweight 5 (%) | 7.5 | 6 | 7.0 | 3 | 0.915 | |
| Malaria before gestation 6 (%) | 60.9 | 56 | 88.9 | 40 | 0.001 | |
| Plasmodiumspp. during pregnancy 7 : | ||||||
| Plasmodium vivax (%) | NA | NA | 13.9 | 19 | --- | |
| Plasmodium vivax,delivery 8 (%) | NA | NA | 21.1 | 4 | --- | |
| Plasmodium falciparum(%) | NA | NA | 10.2 | 14 | --- | |
| Plasmodium falciparum,delivery 8 (%) | NA | NA | 35.7 | 5 | —— | |
1As reported by the patient.
2Antenatal care visits. Women are encouraged to attend 7 or more ANC visits by the government. If they do so, they receive a pre-natal bundle.
3Defined as <11 g/dL of hemoglobin.
4Defined as a gestational age <37 weeks.
5Defined as a birthweight <2500 g.
6As reported by the patient.
7Numbers represent women with single species infections. Nine women in total (included in the malaria in pregnancy group) had either sequential or simultaneous infections with both species. Three women had infections that were not identified.
8Species identified using microscopy and/or nested-PCR done on either peripheral or placental blood at delivery.
9Defined by the microscopic examination of slides during gestation and/or the presence of Plasmodium spp. or Plasmodium spp. products identified by histology or PCR after delivery.
10Differences in the mean values between groups were evaluated using Student’s t-tests. Categorical data and proportions were analysed using Chi-square test.