Effect of Age on Prevalence of Malaria and Oxidative Stress in Children

Objective: To determine the effect of age on prevalence of malaria infection and oxidative stress in children.
Study Design: One hundred and seventy children within the age range 0-5 years were recruited into this study from Specialist hospital, Ikare, Ondo state, Nigeria. The children were divided into three age range groups. The first group was within age range 0-1 year, the second group was within age range 2-3 years and the last group was within age range 4-5 years. The study considered those who were malaria positive only.
Methodology: Five milliliters of blood was collected by venipuncture from each child and the blood was immediately transferred into ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) bottle. The plasma was separated from the whole blood and was used to determine the triglyceride, total plasma protein, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels. The whole blood was screened for the presence of malaria parasite.
Results: The prevalence of malaria infection was significantly higher in the group within the age range 2-3 years than in other age ranges studied, but the parasite density was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the group within the age range 4-5 years than other age ranges studied. The parasite density was significantly lower in the group within the age range 0-1 year than those within the age ranges 2-3 years and 4-5 years. There was a significant increase in total protein, SOD and GSH levels in the children within the age range 0-1 year as compared with other age groups studied. The triglyceride and MDA levels were significantly higher in age group 2-3 and 4-5 years than in the children within the age range 0-1 year.
Conclusion: This study showed that the older children were more susceptible to malaria infection and oxidative stress as compared to those within the age range 0-1year, therefore, more attention should be given to these age groups.