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. 2024 Dec 10;9(12):303.
doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed9120303.

Micronutrient Biomarkers and Their Association with Malaria Infection in Children in Buea Health District, Cameroon

Jerome Nyhalah Dinga  1   2   3   4 , Emmanuel Fondungallah Anu  2   5 , Romelle Dibanda Feumba  5 , Haowen Qin  3 , Flora Ayah  6 , Rene Bilingwe Ayiseh  2   5 , Robert Adamu Shey  2   5 , Stanley Dobgima Gamua  1   2   5 , Anthony Kukwah Tufon  6   7 , Rameshbabu Manyam  3 , Vincent P K Titanji  2   5
Affiliations

Micronutrient Biomarkers and Their Association with Malaria Infection in Children in Buea Health District, Cameroon

Jerome Nyhalah Dinga et al. Trop Med Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Recently malaria and micronutrient deficiencies have become a major worldwide public health problem, particularly in Africa and other endemic countries with children under 5 years old being the most vulnerable. Apart from nutritional problems that cause micronutrient deficiencies, studies have also reported that parasitic infections like malaria can affect the levels of micronutrients. Thus, this research was aimed at assessing the serum levels of micronutrient biomarkers and their association with malaria infection in children under 5 years old in the Buea Health District. Method: This cross-sectional study recruited 80 participants from February to April 2024. The micronutrient biomarkers levels were measured using a Q-7plex Human Micronutrient Measurement Kit. Results: There were changes in serum micronutrient biomarkers levels between malaria infected and healthy children. Ferritin was higher in sick children (23.53 μg/L ± 7.75) than in healthy children (19.07 μg/L ± 3.87), significantly (p < 0.002). The same trend was observed with the soluble transferrin receptor being higher (p < 0.049) in sick children (3.74 mg/L ± 1.92) compared to healthy ones (3.08 mg/L ± 0.64). In addition, the levels of retinol-binding protein 4 and thyroglobulin levels were not significantly different between the sick and healthy children. Therefore, this study revealed that malaria causes alterations in the serum levels of micronutrient biomarkers and consequently affects micronutrient levels in children below the age of 5 in the Buea Health District.

Keywords: ferritin; malaria infection; micronutrient biomarkers; retinol-binding protein 4; soluble transferrin receptor; thyroglobulin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Shows the lifecycle of a malaria parasite.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sociodemographic characteristics of the study cohort.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Categorization of micronutrient biomarkers into low or levels in amongst children infected with malaria.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Correlation Heatmap of the study micronutrients and variables. Python was used to generate a HeatMap to show the correlation between the study variables and one another.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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