Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jun;24(2):152-159.
doi: 10.4314/ahs.v24i2.18.

Relationship between calcium-to-magnesium ratio and malaria parasite density among children with uncomplicated malaria infection

Oziegbe Johnson Airen  1 , Loveth Amenaghawon Emokpae  1 , Zainab Omoruyi  1 , Mathias Abiodun Emokpae  1
Affiliations

Relationship between calcium-to-magnesium ratio and malaria parasite density among children with uncomplicated malaria infection

Oziegbe Johnson Airen et al. Afr Health Sci. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Background/objective: A high calcium-to-magnesium ratio above 2:1 has been associated with higher risk of metabolic, inflammation and cardiovascular disorders. This study evaluates the serum levels of iron, magnesium, calcium, folate, vitamin B12 and calcium to magnesium ratio in children with uncomplicated malaria infection.

Materials and methods: Measured nutritional parameters were determined in 300 children (100 males and 100 females) with malaria infection and 100 children (50 males and 50 females) without malaria infection using Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay and spectrophotometric methods.

Results: Significantly lower (p<0.001) levels of serum magnesium, iron, vitamin B12, folate and Packed cell volume (p<0.03) were observed among children with malaria than controls. On the other hand, serum calcium (8.45±0.20) and calcium-to-magnesium ratio (3.9:1.0) (were significantly higher (p<0.001) in malaria infected children than controls. Calcium to magnesium ratio correlated (r=0.188; p<0.01) with malaria parasitaemia.

Conclusion: Higher serum calcium-to-magnesium ratio above the recommended 2.1 may contribute to increase risk of morbidity and mortality. Nutritional intervention aimed at lowering the ca/mg ratio may be essential in the management of malaria infection in Children.

Keywords: Child; calcium; magnesium; parasites.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author's declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Counihan NA, Modak JK, de Koning-Ward TF. How Malaria Parasites Acquire Nutrients From Their Host. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 2021;9:649184. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schureck MA, Darling JE, Merk A, Shao J, Daggupati G, Srinivasan P, et al. Malaria parasites use a soluble RhopH complex for erythrocyte invasion and an integral form for nutrient uptake. eLife. 2021;10:e65282. - PMC - PubMed
    1. O'Neal AJ, Butler LR, Rolandelli A, Gilk SD, Pedra JH. Lipid hijacking: a unifying theme in vector-borne diseases. eLife. 2020;9:e61675. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Spielmann T, Gras S, Sabitzki R, Meissner M. Endocytosis in Plasmodium and toxoplasma parasites. Trends Parasitol. 2020;36:520–532. - PubMed
    1. Ndako JA, Olisa JA, Ozoadile OY, Dojumo VT, Fajobi VO, Akinwumi JA. Evaluation of the association between Malaria infection and Electrolyte variation in patients: use of Pearson correlation analyticaltechnique. Inform Med Unlocked. 2020;21:100437.

LinkOut - more resources