Table 1.
Demographic characteristics and Plasmodium falciparum count of blood donors stratified into districts
| Demographic variable and parasite count | Ada East District (n = 149) | Ashaiman Municipal (n = 164) | Ayawaso sub-metro (n = 155) | Ga South Municipal (n = 140) | Ga West Municipal (n = 163) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age mean ± SD (years) | 32.4 ± 9.2 | 32.0 ± 9.5 | 29.8 ± 9.2 | 29.1 ± 8.6 | 30.1 ± 8.9 |
| Gender | |||||
| Male n (%) | 124 (83.2) | 136 (82.9) | 125 (80.6) | 108 (77.2) | 127 (77.9) |
| Female n (%) | 25 (16.8) | 28 (17.1) | 30 (19.4) | 32 (22.8) | 36 (22.1) |
| Highest education | |||||
| No formal education | 7 (4.7) | 7 (4.3) | 4 (2.6) | 8 (5.7) | 1 (0.6) |
| Junior high schoola | 53 (35.6) | 57 (34.7) | 46 (29.7) | 43 (30.7) | 48 (29.4) |
| Senior high schoolb | 49 (32.9) | 58 (35.4) | 65 (41.9) | 57 (40.7) | 56 (34.4) |
| Tertiary | 32 (21.5) | 34 (20.7) | 37 (23.8) | 32 (22.8) | 58 (35.6) |
| Otherc | 8 (5.3) | 8 (4.9) | 3 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Occupation | |||||
| Student | 24 (16.1) | 29 (17.7) | 37 (23.8) | 32 (23.8) | 25 (15.3) |
| Interns | 2 (1.4) | 2 (1.2) | 2 (1.3) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (1.2) |
| Formal workers | 20 (13.4) | 19 (11.6) | 7 (4.5) | 12 (8.6) | 29 (17.8) |
| Informal workersd | 70 (47.0) | 79 (48.2) | 70 (45.2) | 66 (47.1) | 62 (38.0) |
| Trading | 26 (17.4) | 29 (17.7) | 19 (12.3) | 19 (13.5) | 36 (22.1) |
| Security officers | 7 (4.7) | 1 (0.6) | 14 (9.0) | 9 (6.4) | 9 (5.5) |
| Unemployed | 0 (0.0) | 5 (3.0) | 6 (3.9) | 2 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) |
| Parasite density (parasites/µL) | |||||
| Geometric mean | 2311 | 991 | 792 | 2334 | 1607 |
| Min–max count | 1578–3151 | 633–1895 | 505–1005 | 697–4798 | 512–4105 |
aMiddle school education inclusive
bO&A level education inclusive
cOthers include technical/vocational education
dAll informal workers except traders