Malaria is a cause of iron deficiency in African children
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Malaria and iron deficiency (ID) are common and interrelated public health problems in African children. Observational data suggest that interrupting malaria transmission reduces the prevalence of ID1. To test the hypothesis that malaria might cause ID, we used sickle cell trait (HbAS, rs334), a genetic variant that confers specific protection against malaria2, as an instrumental variable in Mendelian randomization analyses. HbAS was associated with a 30% reduction in ID among children living in malaria-endemic countries in Africa (n = 7,453), but not among individuals living in malaria-free areas (n = 3,818). Genetically predicted malaria risk was associated with an odds ratio of 2.65 for ID per unit increase in the log incidence rate of malaria. This suggests that an intervention that halves the risk of malaria episodes would reduce the prevalence of ID in African children by 49%.
Date Issued
2021-04-01
Date Acceptance
2021-01-12
Citation
Nature Medicine, 2021, 27 (4), pp.653-658
ISSN
1078-8956
Publisher
Nature Research
Start Page
653
End Page
658
Journal / Book Title
Nature Medicine
Volume
27
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc. 2021. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01238-4
Sponsor
Wellcome Trust
International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000620458400003&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
202800/Z/16/Z
The Genome Diversity in Africa
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cell Biology
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Research & Experimental Medicine
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-02-22