Table 5.
Univariate and multivariate associations of anaemia with asymptomatic malaria using microscopy, RDT, adjusted for age, sex and altitude
| Variable | Unadjusted OR 95% CI | p-values | Model 1 | P-values | Model 2 | P-values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted OR, 95% CI | Adjusted OR, 95% CI | |||||
| Asymptomatic based on microscopy | ||||||
| Negative | Ref | Ref | – | – | – | |
| Positive | 1.90 (0.90–4.0) | 0.09 | 2.1 (1.0–4.5) | 0.56 | – | – |
| Age group (yr) | ||||||
| < 5 | Ref | Ref | Ref | |||
| 5–11 | 0.8 (0.5–1.3) | 0.41 | 0.8 (0.5–1.2) | 0.25 | 0.8 (0.5–1.2) | 0.21 |
| 12–14 | 0.6 (0.3–1.3) | 0.20 | 0.6 (0.3–1.2) | 0.13 | 0.6 (0.3–1.1) | 0.11 |
| 15–19 | 0.8 (0.4–1.5) | 0.41 | 0.7 (0.4–1.5) | 0.38 | 0.7 (0.4–1.4) | 0.30 |
| Sex | ||||||
| Male | Ref | Ref | Ref | |||
| Female | 0.7 (0.5–1.0)* | 0.7 (0.5–1.0) | 0.53 | 1.0 (0.1–1.0)* | 0.04 | |
| Altitude | ||||||
| High | Ref | Ref | Ref | |||
| Low | 1.2 (0.8–1.7) | 00.44 | 1.2 (0.8–1.8) | 0.40 | 1.2 (0.8–1.7) | 0.49 |
| Asymptomatic based on RDT | ||||||
| Negative | Ref | – | – | – | Ref | |
| Positive | 1.9 (1.3–2.8)* | 0.03 | – | – | 2.1 (1.3–3.2)* | 0.01 |
*p < 0.05, Model 1 included asymptomatic malaria based on microscopic results adjusted for gender, age and altitude whilst model 2 included asymptomatic malaria based on RDT adjusted for gender, age and altitude. The age groups presented here are as per the WHO haemoglobin concentrations for the diagnosis of anaemia and assessment of severity [17]