Table 4.
Effects of Giardia Detection in Monthly Surveillance Stool Samples on Weight and Length Attainment at 2 Years of Age Among 1727 Children in the MAL-ED Cohort With Anthropometric Measurements at 2 Years
| Exposure | n (N = 1727) | WAZ Differencea (95% CI) | LAZ Differencea,b (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giardia persistence in first 6 months | 62 | −0.29 (−0.53 to −0.05) | −0.29 (−0.64 to 0.07) |
| Any Giardia detection in first 6 months | 173 | −0.01 (−0.16 to 0.14) | 0.08 (−0.12 to 0.28) |
| Giardia persistence in first year | 290 | −0.04 (−0.16 to 0.09) | −0.01 (−0.15 to 0.13) |
| Any Giardia detection in first year | 549 | −0.07 (−0.18 to 0.03) | −0.07 (−0.18 to 0.03) |
| Giardia persistence in second year | 549 | −0.05 (−0.15 to 0.05) | −0.09 (−0.19 to 0.01) |
| Any Giardia detection in second year | 976 | −0.01 (−0.11 to 0.08) | −0.05 (−0.14 to 0.05) |
| Any Giardia persistence | 663 | −0.05 (−0.15 to 0.04) | −0.07 (−0.17 to 0.03) |
| Any Giardia detection | 1101 | −0.02 (−0.12 to 0.08) | −0.04 (−0.13 to 0.06) |
| Any Giardia-related diarrheac | 557 | 0.07 (−0.04 to 0.19) | −0.03 (−0.15 to 0.10) |
| Percent positive surveillance stool samples (per 38% increased) | −0.11 (−0.23 to −0.00) | −0.12 (−0.25 to 0.01) |
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; LAZ, length-for-age z score; WAZ, weight-for-age z score.
aAdjusted for site, anthropometric measurement at enrollment, sex, WAMI (Water, Assets, Maternal Education, Income) score, mother’s age, presence of siblings, water treatment, routine hand-washing after child defecation, use of toilet paper, dirt floor, ownership of chickens, age at stopping exclusive breastfeeding, and percentage of surveillance stool samples that tested positive for Campylobacter and enteroaggregative E coli in the first 2 years of life.
bAll LAZ estimates excluded PKN (n = 1478).
cAlso adjusted for Giardia persistence in surveillance stool samples to assess independent effect of diarrhea with Giardia detection.
dThe difference between the 10th and 90th percentile of cumulative percent positivity across all sites was 38%, which represents a contrast between high and low Giardia exposure in the context of the MAL-ED cohort.