An Extension of Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition on Investigating the Correlation of Maternal Education and Childhood Malaria Infection in Nigeria

IntroductionAn estimated 216 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide every year. Cross-sectional studies have reported negative association between maternal education and child malaria risks; however, no randomised trial or quasi-experimental study using a natural experiment has confirmed a causal relationship between these two factors. I used the free primary education reform in Uganda to assess the causal effects of maternal schooling on children’s risk of malaria infection.MethodsMalaria biomarkers of children aged <5 years were collected from the 2009 and 2014 Uganda Malaria Indicator Surveys (n=5316). In 1997, the government eliminated tuition requirements in primary schools, which increased the educational attainment of the affected cohorts. Using exposure to the reform as an instrumental variable, I used a two-stage least squares approach to estimate the causal effects of maternal year of education on the probability that a child would contract malaria at the time of the survey. I also evaluated the cost-effectiveness of primary schooling as a malaria control intervention.ResultsOne extra year of maternal education reduced children’s risk of malaria infection by 7.5 percentage points (p=0.057) from baseline (34.9%). The length of maternal education was also positively associated with insecticide-treated bednet usage by their children. The results were robust to a variety of sensitivity tests. Primary schooling for women was a cost-effective intervention to reduce children’s malaria infection.ConclusionImproving access to primary education could be a cost-effective measure to reduce malaria prevalence among children of educated mothers aged <5 years in malaria-endemic countries.

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Improving Child Health With Maternal Education

Pediatric News ◽

10.1016/s0031-398x(11)70208-9 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 45 (8) ◽

pp. 29

Author(s):

GHULAM MUSTAFA

Keyword(s):

Child Health ◽

Maternal Education

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Influence of Maternal Education on Food Consumption and Energy and Nutrient Intake in a Group of Pre-School Children from Madrid

International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research ◽

10.1024/0300-9831.73.6.439 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 73 (6) ◽

pp. 439-445 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Navia ◽

Ortega ◽

Requejo ◽

Perea ◽

López-Sobaler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Consumption ◽

School Children ◽

Food Habits ◽

Nutrient Intake ◽

Maternal Education ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Dietary Adequacy ◽

Consumption Energy ◽

Maternal Educational Level ◽

Energy And Nutrient Intake

A study was conducted on the influence of maternal education level on food consumption, energy and nutrient intake, and dietary adequacy in 110 pre-school children from Madrid, Spain. With increasing maternal education, children consumed more sugar (p < 0.05), fruit (p < 0.05), and fish (p < 0.05). Snacking was more frequent with decreasing maternal education (p < 0.05). Though statistical significance was not reached, the consumption of pre-cooked foods was greater among children of mothers educated to a higher level, a phenomenon probably related to the work situation of these women. With respect to dietary composition, no significant differences were found between groups for macronutrient, fiber and energy intakes, except for energy supplied by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which was greater in the children of less educated women (p < 0.01). This is probably due to their greater consumption of sunflower seed oil. The diets of children belonging to well-educated mothers came closer to meeting the recommended intakes for folate, vitamin C, and iodine. It would seem that maternal educational level influences the food habits of children. Mothers with less education may require special advice in this area.

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Platelet Hypersensitivity in Acute Malaria (Plasmodium falciparum) Infection in Man

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1653407 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 46 (02) ◽

pp. 547-549 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

E M Essien ◽

M I Ebhota

Keyword(s):

Plasmodium Falciparum ◽

Malaria Infection ◽

Light Transmission ◽

Human Platelet ◽

Platelet Rich Plasma ◽

Wave Pattern ◽

Falciparum Infection ◽

Secondary Wave ◽

Control Subjects ◽

The Mean

SummaryDuring acute malaria infection, platelets in human platelet-rich plasma are hypersensitive to the addition of ADP between 1.0 uM and 5.0 uM, or adrenaline 0.11 uM as aggregating agents. The mean maximum aggregation amplitude (as % of light transmission) obtained from 8 subjects in response to added ADP (1.0 uM), 39.8 ± 27 (1SD), was significantly greater than the value in 6 controls (5.2±6.7 (1SD); t = 3, 51 P <0.005). A similar pattern of response was obtained with higher ADP concentrations (2.4,4.5 or 5.0 uM) in 22 patients and 20 control subjects (89.9±14.9% vs 77.8±16.5% (1SD) t = 2.45, P <0.02). Addition of 4.5 uM ADP to patient PRP usually evoked only a single aggregation wave (fused primary and secondary waves) while the typical primary and secondary wave pattern was usually obtained from controls.Mean plasma B-thromboglobulin (BTG) concentration in 7 patients (208.3 ± 15.6 ng/ml) was significantly higher than the value in 6 control subjects (59.2±15.7 ng/ml; t = 13.44, P <0.002).

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