Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Evidence of reduced academic performance among schoolchildren with helminth infection

2022; Oxford University Press; Volume: 15; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/inthealth/ihac044

1876-3413

Emmanuel Timmy Donkoh, Dorice Berkoh, Samuel Fosu-Gyasi, Wina I Ofori Boadu, Abdul Sakibu Raji, Samuel Asamoah, Kenneth Bentum Otabil, John Ekow Otoo, Michael T Yeboah, Benedicta A Aganbire, Austin Gideon Adobasom-Anane, Simon K Adams, Oksana Debrah, Kwame O. Boadu, Dodzi Kofi Amelor, Christian Obirikorang, Kwame Nkrumah, Edward T. Dassah, Enoch Afful, Barimah Ansah,

Parasitic Infections and Diagnostics

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) pose a formidable health risk to school-age children in resource-limited settings. Unfortunately, mass deworming campaigns have been derailed since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The present study assessed the cross-sectional associations between STHs, nutritional status and academic performance of schoolchildren in the Banda District of Ghana.Schoolchildren (5-16 y of age; n=275) were recruited through both school and household visits by community health workers using a multistage cluster sampling technique. In addition to school microscopy, anthropometric records were also taken.The prevalence of geohelminthiasis was 40.4% (95% confidence interval 34.6 to 46.2). STHs targeted for elimination by the World Health Organization and national programmes were detected among schoolchildren. Children with intestinal parasite infection (53.7 [standard deviation {SD} 11.5]) had lower mean academic scores compared with uninfected children (59.6 [SD 16.9]) (p=0.034). In multiple regression analysis, intestinal parasite infection status and z-scores for weight-for-age showed a collective significant effect on the academic score (F1117=8.169, p<0.001, R2=0.125).Schoolchildren with STHs had poorer academic performance compared with uninfected children, despite their nutritional status. In addition to school feeding programmes, school-based mass drug administration campaigns may be critical for improving learning outcomes in young schoolchildren.