Table 2.
Effects of age on hepcidin, inflammation and iron status by malaria parasitaemia.
| Age, years |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–1 year | 1–3 years | 3–5 years | 5–8 years | ||
| Number, (%) | 63 (10·6) | 161 (27·1) | 142 (24·0) | 227 (38·3) | |
| Malaria parasitaemia, n (%) | 1 /62 (1·6) | 10/155 (6·5) | 21/141 (14·9) | 38/224 (17·0) | |
| Parasite density, parasites/μL | 120 | 1660 (327, 8406) | 984 (380, 2545) | 783 (407, 1505) | |
| Hepcidin, ng/ml | All | 8·39 (5·85, 12·05) | 2·49 (1·82, 3·41) | 3·30 (2·39, 4·55) | 1·47 (1·11, 1·95) |
| Parasite + ve | 7·05 | 4·92 (1·15, 21·15) | 13·47 (7·35, 24·70) | 3·14 (1·66, 5·95) | |
| Parasite -ve | 8·42 (5·83, 12·17) | 2·31 (1·66, 3·21) | 2·56 (1·81, 3·64) | 1·25 (0·91, 1·70) | |
| CRP, mg/L | All | 2·08 (1·44, 3·02) | 1·29 (1·07, 1·57) | 1·55 (1·22, 1·96) | 0·89 (0·79, 1·02) |
| Parasite + ve | 29 | 2·48 (0·75, 8·14) | 3·28 (1·45, 7·44) | 1·74 (1·08, 2·78) | |
| Parasite -ve | 1·99 (1·38, 2·87) | 1·20 (1·0, 1·46) | 1·32 (1·05, 1·67) | 0·79 (0·70, 0·89) | |
| Ferritin, μg/L | All | 27·7 (19·5, 39·4) | 11·0 (9·4, 13·0) | 18·1 (15·3, 21·4) | 14·8 (13·0, 16·9) |
| Parasite + ve | 106 | 30·4 (12·8, 72·3) | 42·6 (29·3, 62·0) | 21·5 (15·0, 30·8) | |
| Parasite -ve | 27·0 (19·0, 38·6) | 10·2 (8·7, 12·0) | 15·4 (12·9, 18·3) | 13·9 (12·1, 15·9) | |
| sTfR, mg/L | All | 3·44 (3·09, 3.83) | 3·92 (3·72, 4·13) | 3·38 (3·19, 3·58) | 3·74 (3·53, 3·96) |
| Parasite + ve | 5·09 | 4·49 (3·61, 5·58) | 3·02 (2·74, 3·32) | 3·71 (3·19, 4·32) | |
| Parasite -ve | 3·42 (3·07, 3·81) | 3·88 (3·67, 4·11) | 3·46 (3·24, 3·69) | 3·74 (3·51, 3·98) | |
| Ferritin index | All | 2·54 (2·08, 3·09) | 3·85 (3·48, 4·25) | 2·82 (2·55, 3·11) | 3·29 (3·00, 3·61) |
| Parasite + ve | 2·51 | 3·19 (2·05, 4·97) | 1·89 (1·63, 2·19) | 3·04 (2·33, 3·97) | |
| Parasite -ve | 2·54 (2·08, 3·10) | 3·90 (3·51, 4·34) | 3·05 (2·73, 3·40) | 3·35 (3·04, 3·69) | |
Abbreviations: CRP, C-reactive protein; sTfR, soluble transferrin receptors. Parasite + ve indicates the presence of malaria parasites on routine blood smear. Unless otherwise indicated numbers are geometric means with 95% confidence intervals in brackets.