Malaria and nutritional status in children living on the coast of Kenya.

Background: The relation between malnutrition and malaria is controversial. On the one hand, malaria may cause malnutrition, whereas on the other hand, malnutrition itself may modulate susceptibility to the disease.

Objective: The objective was to investigate the association between Plasmodium falciparum malaria and malnutrition in a cohort of Kenyan children.

Iron deficiency and malaria among children living on the coast of Kenya.

Both iron deficiency and malaria are common in much of sub-Saharan Africa, and the interaction between these conditions is complex. To investigate the association between nutritional iron status, immunoglobulins, and clinical Plasmodium falciparum malaria, we determined the incidence of malaria in a cohort of children between the ages of 8 months and 8 years who were living on the Kenyan coast. Biochemical iron status and malaria-specific immune responses were determined during 2 cross-sectional surveys.