Hindawi, BioMed Research International, (2021), p. 1-12, 2021
DOI: 10.1155/2021/5553344
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Background. Malaria and malnutrition are major public health problems in developing countries. This studywas mainly focused on the prevalence, patterns, and predictors of these conditions and their associations. Methods. A cross-sectional community study was conducted from February to March 2018 among 281 participants living in two districts in Douala. A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic information and parasitological and anthropometric data of participants. Nutritional status was determined using age, weight, and height. Body mass index for age (BMIAZ), height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), and weight-for-height (WHZ) Z scores were computed based on the World Health Organization growth reference curves. Malaria infection was diagnosed using light-emitting diode fluorescence microscopy. Results. The overall prevalence of malaria was 18.9%, mostly asymptomatic cases. Malaria infection was associated with study site ( p = 0.04 ), age ( p = 0.01 ), WAZ ( p = 0.0049 ), HAZ ( p = 0.03 ), and BMI ( p = 0.02 ). The overall prevalence of malnutrition was 43.1%, and stunting was the main form of malnutrition recorded in children under five years of age (23.6%). The risk of being stunted in this group was about quintupled in malaria-infected participants ( ARR = 4.70 ; p = 0.02 ). In those aged 5-19 years, the prevalence of underweight was significantly higher in malaria-positive individuals as compared to their negative counterparts ( p = 0.02 ). The overall prevalence of malaria and malnutrition cooccurrence was 8.5% and varied with age ( p < 0.0001 ) and study site ( p = 0.04 ). Conclusion and Recommendation. Malaria was associated with malnutrition among the study participants. Early detection and treatment of these ailments would reduce morbidity and mortality.