Table 1.
Characteristics of study participants by placental malaria status
| Variable | Placental malaria status in pregnancy | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| No placental malaria (n = 127) | Placental malaria (n = 101) | p value | |
| Maternal age, years | 22.7 (19.9–25.7) | 19.0 (17.9–21.3) | < 0.001 |
| Primigravid | 23 (18.1) | 64 (63.4) | < 0.001 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 20.6 (19.0–22.2) | 21.0 (19.7–22.7) | 0.08 |
| Twin gestationa | 0 (0.0) | 4 (4.0) | 0.04 |
| GA at enrollment, weeks | 14.7 (13.6–15.9) | 15.3 (14.0–17.6) | 0.003 |
| Household wealth index | 0.80 | ||
| Lowest tertile | 46 (36.2) | 37 (36.6) | |
| Middle tertile | 42 (33.1) | 37 (36.6) | |
| Highest tertile | 39 (30.7) | 27 (26.7) | |
| Intermittent preventive therapy drug | 0.01 | ||
| Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine | 40 (31.5) | 49 (48.5)s | |
| Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine | 87 (68.5) | 52 (51.5) | |
| GA at delivery, weeks | 40.0 (39.0–40.9) | 39.3 (38.0–40.3) | < 0.001 |
| Preterm birth < 37 weeks GA | 6 (4.7) | 15 (14.9) | 0.01 |
| Very preterm birth < 32 weeks GA | 1 (0.8) | 4 (4.0) | 0.17 |
| Low birth weightb | 10 (7.9) | 19 (18.8) | 0.01 |
| Small for gestational agec | 19 (15.0) | 26 (25.7) | 0.04 |
| Stillbirth | 0 (0.0) | 2 (2.0) | 0.09 |
| Neonatal demised (N = 224) | 4 (3.2) | 0 (0.0) | 0.13 |
BMI body mass index, GA gestational age, SGA small for gestational age
Statistically significant p values (< 0.05) are indicated in italics
aInformation missing for 1 patient
bDefined as birthweight < 2500 g
cDefined as birthweight < 10%ile for GA based on East African growth standards.15
dData unavailable for four patients including two in the peripheral malaria group and 2 in the placental malaria group
Data are presented as median (interquartile range) or n (%). Wilcoxon Rank Sum and Chi squared or Fischer Exact tests were used to compare nonparametric continuous variables and proportions, respectively. Pregnancies with peripheral malaria only (without placental malaria) and pregnancies with placental malaria are the comparison groups for the p values