Table 1.
Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics upon enrolment.
| Characteristics | Aparasitemic | Non-SMA (Hb ≥ 5.0 g/dL) | SMA (Hb < 5.0 g/dL) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic indices | ||||
| Sample size (n) | 292 | 986 | 234 | |
| Gender, n (%) | ||||
| Male | 147 (50.34) | 502 (50.91) | 114 (48.72) | 0.834a |
| Female | 145 (49.70) | 484 (49.09) | 120 (51.28) | |
| Age, (months) | 11.28 (13.00) | 12.70 (10.46) | 9.51 (10.73)*** | 0.002b |
| Haematological and parasitological indices | ||||
| Haemoglobin, g/dL | 10.40 (2.40) | 7.70 (2.80) | 4.30 (1.00)*** | <0.001b |
| Hematocrit, (Hct. %) | 32.90 (6.30) | 25.30 (8.90) | 14.20 (3.70) *** | <0.001b |
| RBC, (×1012/μL) | 4.67 (1.03) | 3.78 (1.39) | 1.90 (0.63) *** | <0.001b |
| WBC (×103/μL) | 10.80 (7.00) | 11.70 (6.30) | 14.30 (9.90) *** | <0.001b |
| Lymphocytes (×103/μL) | 5.90 (4.20) | 5.20 (3.60) | 6.70 (5.20) *** | <0.001b |
| Monocytes (×103/μL) | 0.80 (0.70) | 0.90 (0.80) | 1.40 (1.30) *** | <0.001b |
| Granulocytes (×103/μL) | 3.80 (3.10) | 5.12 (4.00) | 5.20 (4.80) | <0.001b |
| Platelet counts (×103/μL) | 350.00 (220.00) | 152.50 (124.00) | 142.50 (100.00)* | 0.003b |
| Parasite density/μL | 0.00 (0.00) | 28,902.75 (78,961) | 23,507.85 (62,646) | 0.004c |
| Genetic variants | ||||
| G6PD gene, n. (%) | ||||
| Normal | 193 (76.60) | 687 (75.40) | 181 (79.00) | |
| Intermediate | 49 (19.40) | 185 (20.30) | 36 (15.70) | 0.589a |
| Deficient | 10 (4.00) | 39 (4.30) | 12 (5.20) | |
| α-thalassaemia, n. (%) | ||||
| αα/αα | 109 (45.00) | 374 (43.40) | 90 (41.90) | |
| -α/αα | 71 (29.30) | 331 (38.40) | 86 (40.00) | 0.031a |
| -α/−α | 62 (25.60) | 157 (18.20) | 39 (18.10) | |
| Sickle cell trait, n. (%) | ||||
| HbAA | 230 (80.40) | 807 (82.50) | 208 (89.70)*** | |
| HbAS | 53 (18.50) | 169 (17.30) | 20 (8.60) | <0.001a |
| HbSS | 3 (1.00) | 2 (0.20) | 4 (1.70) | |
| Co-infections | ||||
| Bacteremia | 27 (9.25) | 59 (5.98) | 20 (8.55) | 0.489a |
| HIV-1 | 12 (4.11) | 25 (2.54) | 13 (5.56)* | 0.039a |
Study participants (n = 1512) were stratified into three groups, aparasitemic, SMA (i.e., Hb < 5.0 g/dL with any density parasitaemia) or non-SMA (Hb ≥ 5.0 g/dL with any density parasitaemia). Data presented are medians (interquartile range, IQR), unless otherwise stated.
Statistical significance determined by the chi-square analysis.
Differences were determined using Kruskal-Wallis tests, and where significant differences were observed, pairwise comparisons between the non-SMA and SMA groups were performed using Mann-Whitney U tests.
Exclusion of the aparasitemic group, differences between the non-SMA and SMA groups determined using Mann-Whitney U tests. Bold indicates P ≤ 0.050. *Represents significant pairwise comparisons between the non-SMA and SMA groups at P < 0.050, **represents P < 0.01, and ***represents P < 0.001. G6PD is presented as absence/presence of G6PD alleles (G202A and A376G), α-thalassaemia is presented as absence/presence of the deletional determinant (−α3.7/−α3.7), and sickle cell trait is presented as the three genotypes. In some samples, we were not able to determine G6PD (n = 120), α-thalassaemia (n = 193), and sickle cell trait (n = 16).