Table 2.
Characteristics of children in Zanzibar aged 12-48 months at baseline with complete developmental assessments at baseline and after treatment. Values are numbers (percentages) unless otherwise specified
| Iron
|
Mebendazole
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placebo | Treatment | Placebo | Treatment | ||
| General characteristics: | |||||
| Female sex | 85/176 (48) | 82/183 (45) | 86/182 (47) | 81/177 (46) | |
| Age (mean (SD) months) | 29.4 (11.1) | 29.6 (10) | 29.4 (10.8) | 29.7 (11) | |
| Breast fed in the past 24 hours | 56/176 (32) | 45/183 (25) | 53/182 (29) | 48/177 (27) | |
| Stunted | 58/171 (34) | 76/179 (43) | 66/179 (37) | 68/171 (40) | |
| Wasted | 10/171 (6) | 9/180 (5) | 10/179 (6) | 9/172 (5) | |
| Underweight | 58/171 (34) | 63/180 (35) | 64/179 (36) | 57/172 (33) | |
| Malaria positive blood film | 149/176 (85) | 153/183 (84) | 154/182 (85) | 148/177 (84) | |
| Anaemia and iron deficiency: | |||||
| Mean (SD) haemoglobin (g/l) | 86 (15) | 86 (15) | 86 (15) | 85 (15) | |
| Mean erythrocyte protoporphyrin (μmol/mol)* | 153 | 162 | 155 | 160 | |
| Mean serum ferritin (μg/l) | 29.2 | 32.5 | 30.9 | 30.8 | |
| Helminth infections: | |||||
| Hookworm | 74/170 (44) | 88/181 (49) | 86/180 (48) | 76/171 (44) | |
| Trichuris trichiura | 115/170 (68) | 125/181 (69) | 125/180 (69) | 115/171 (67) | |
| Ascaris lumbricoides | 73/170 (43) | 74/181 (41) | 79/180 (44) | 68/171 (40) | |
| Developmental scores: | |||||
| Language scale (mean (SD) score) | 9.6 (5.8) | 10.4 (5.8) | 10.0 (5.8) | 10.0 (5.8) | |
| Motor scale (mean (SD) score)† | 11.5 (6.2) (n=123) | 12.0 (6.2) (n=132) | 11.7 (6.3) (n=128) | 11.8 (6.0) (n=127) | |
Differences in denominators result from missing data on anthropometry and helminth egg counts.
*
Geometric mean.
†
Children 12-36 months old at baseline.