Table 2.
Baseline characteristics stratified by 25(OH)D levels of 302 Ugandan children included in the analysis and multivariable linear regression results for associations between 25(OH)D and participant characteristics.
| Characteristics | All Participants | 25(OH)D Levels ≤75 nmol/L) (n = 113) |
25(OH)D Levels >75 nmol/L (n = 189) |
25(OH)D Levels (Per 10 nmol/L) (n = 295) β (95% CI) †† |
p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age at 25(OH)D measurement in years, (n, %) | |||||
| 1 | 10 (3.3) | 3 (30.0) | 7 (70.0) | 0.91 (−0.79, 2.62) | 0.02 * |
| 2 | 206 (68.2) | 75 (36.4) | 131 (63.6) | Reference | |
| 3 | 63 (20.9) | 24 (38.1) | 39 (61.9) | −0.49 (−1.19, 0.19) | |
| 4 | 23 (7.6) | 11 (47.8) | 12 (52.2) | −1.31 (−2.72, 0.11) | |
| Sex (n, %) | |||||
| Male | 146 (48.3) | 56 (38.4) | 90 (61.6) | Reference | |
| Female | 156 (51.7) | 57 (36.5) | 99 (63.5) | −0.29 (−0.82, 0.24) | 0.29 |
| Height-for-age Z-scores (mv = 8) | |||||
| Normal (>2 SD) | 193 (65.7) | 79 (40.9) | 114 (59.1) | Reference | |
| Stunted (<2 SD) | 101 (34.4) | 32 (31.7) | 69 (68.3) | 0.21 (−0.36, 0.78) | 0.47 |
| Weight-for-age Z-scores (mv = 5) |
|||||
| Normal (>2 SD) | 264 (88.9) | 103 (39.0) | 161 (61.0) | Reference | |
| Underweight (<2 SD) | 33 (11.1) | 8 (24.2) | 25 (75.8) | 0.33 (−0.57,1.23) | 0.47 |
| Weight-for-height Z-scores (mv = 5) |
|||||
| Normal (>2 SD) | 283 (95.3) | 105 (37.1) | 178 (62.9) | Reference | |
| Wasted (<2 SD) | 14 (4.7) | 6 (42.9) | 8 (57.1) | −0.50 (−1.84, 0.84) | 0.46 |
| Helminthic infections between birth and 5 years (n, %) | |||||
| Negative | 248 (82.1) | 96 (38.7) | 152 (61.3) | Reference | |
| Positive | 54 (17.9) | 17 (31.5) | 37 (68.5) | 0.01 (−0.74, 0.76) | 0.98 |
| Asymptomatic malaria between birth and 5 years (n, %) | |||||
| Negative | 268 (88.7) | 103 (38.4) | 165 (61.6) | Reference | |
| Positive | 34 (11.3) | 10 (29.4) | 24 (70.6) | 1.14 (0.27, 2.02) | 0.01 |
| Malaria episodes between birth and 5 years (n, %) | |||||
| None | 135 (44.7) | 56 (41.8) | 79 (58.5) | Reference | |
| 1 | 65 (21.5) | 24 (36.9) | 41 (63.1) | −0.38 (−1.12, 0.36) | |
| ≥2 | 102 (33.8) | 33 (32.3) | 69 (67.7) | 0.25 (−0.38, 0.89) | 0.48 * |
| Haemoglobin levels at time of 25(OH)D measurement a (n, %) (mv = 16) |
|||||
| Normal | 172 (60.1) | 62 (36.1) | 110 (63.9) | Reference | |
| Anaemia | 114 (39.9) | 44 (38.6) | 70 (61.4) | −0.17 (−0.74, 0.40) | 0.56 |
| Iron deficiency at time of 25(OH)D measurement b (n, %) (mv = 14) | |||||
| Normal | 210 (72.9) | 76 (36.2) | 134 (63.8) | Reference | |
| Iron deficiency | 78 (27.1) | 31 (39.7) | 47 (60.3) | 0.03 (−0.60, 0.66) | 0.93 |
| CRP levels at time of 25(OH)D measurement c (n, %) (mv = 3) | |||||
| Normal | 230 (76.9) | 98 (42.6) | 132 (57.4) | Reference | |
| Inflammation | 69 (23.1) | 15 (21.7) | 54 (78.3) | 0.79 (0.14, 1.46) | 0.02 |
| Randomized treatment of children with albendazole (ABZ) in EMaBS trial | |||||
| Placebo | 143 (47.4) | 53 (37.1) | 90 (62.9) | Reference | |
| ABZ | 159 (52.7) | 60 (37.7) | 99 (62.3) | 0.13 (−0.41, 0.67) | 0.63 |
| Maternal age in years at enrolment to EMaBS (n, %) | |||||
| 14–24 | 165 (54.6) | 63 (38.2) | 102 (61.8) | Reference | |
| 25–34 | 110 (36.4) | 40 (36.4) | 70 (63.6) | −0.09 (−0.77, 0.59) | |
| 35+ | 27 (8.9) | 10 (37.0) | 17 (63.0) | 0.69 (−0.54, 1.91) | 0.55 * |
| Maternal education at enrolment to EMaBS (n, %) (mv = 1) | |||||
| Primary/none | 165 (54.8) | 66 (40.0) | 99 (60.0) | 0.19 (−0.91, 1.29) | |
| Secondary | 114 (37.9) | 37 (32.5) | 77 (67.5) | 0.46 (−0.64, 1.56) | |
| Tertiary | 22 (7.3) | 9 (40.9) | 13 (59.1) | Reference | 0.77 * |
| Parity (n, %) | |||||
| 1 | 54 (17.9) | 27 (50.0) | 27 (50.0) | Reference | |
| 2–4 | 179 (59.3) | 61 (34.1) | 118 (65.9) | 0.19 (−0.56, 0.94) | |
| 5+ | 69 (22.9) | 25 (36.2) | 44 (63.8) | −0.09 (−1.23, 1.05) | 0.97 * |
| Randomized treatment of mothers with ABZ during pregnancy in EMaBS trial (n, %) | |||||
| Placebo | 144 (47.7) | 51 (35.4) | 93 (64.6) | Reference | |
| ABZ | 158 (552.3) | 62 (39.2) | 96 (60.8) | −0.02 (−0.56, 0.52) | 0.94 |
| Randomized treatment of mothers with praziquantel during pregnancy in EMaBS trial (n, %) | |||||
| Placebo | 167 (55.3) | 65 (38.9) | 102 (61.1) | Reference | |
| Praziquantel | 135 (44.7) | 48 (35.6) | 87 (64.4) | 0.47 (−0.07, 1.00) | 0.09 |
| Household socioeconomic status recorded at EMaBS enrolment d (n, %) (mv = 5) | |||||
| 1 (lowest) | 16 (5.4) | 13 (81.3) | 3(18.7) | −1.49 (−2.92, −0.07) | |
| 2 | 16 (5.4) | 6 (37.5) | 10 (62.5) | −1.26 (−2.77, 0.24) | |
| 3 | 82 (27.6) | 22 (26.8) | 60 (73.2) | 0.33 (−0.71, 1.37) | |
| 4 | 89 (29.9) | 30 (33.7) | 59 (66.3) | −0.14 (−1.18, 0.89) | |
| 5 | 69 (23.2) | 29 (42.0) | 40 (58.0) | −0.33 (−1.39, 0.72) | |
| 6 (highest) | 25 (8.4) | 11 (44.0) | 14 (56.0) | Reference | 0.25 * |
| Location recorded at EMaBS enrolment (n, %) | |||||
| Urban | 118 (39.1) | 49 (41.5) | 69 (58.5) | Reference | |
| Peri-urban | 79 (26.2) | 29 (36.7) | 50 (63.3) | 0.36 (−0.33, 1.05) | |
| Rural | 105 (34.8) | 35 (33.3) | 70 (66.7) | 0.24 (−0.41, 0.89) | 0.45 * |
SD, standard deviation; mv, missing values. a Anaemia as haemoglobin <11 g/dL, adjusted for change in altitude (1000 m above sea level); b iron deficiency as ferritin levels <12 µg/L; and c inflammation as C-reactive protein levels >5 mg/L. d Household socioeconomic status was derived as a composite of building materials of the home, number of rooms and items owned. ††All multivariable models were adjusted for all the other participant characteristics (age at 25(OH)D measurement, sex, iron status, anaemia, inflammation, weight-for-height Z-scores, helminthic infections between birth and 5 years, randomized treatment of children and mothers with albendazole and praziquantel, household socioeconomic status, location, maternal age and education, parity and asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia. Sample size reduced from 302 to 295 children in the final multivariable analyses due to missing values in some of the adjusted variables such as anaemia and iron status. * p value for trend.