The Effect of Nutritional Status on Intestinal Parasitic Infections in Primary School Students in Tehran
The Effect of Nutritional Status on Intestinal Parasitic Infections in Primary School Students in Tehran
Hamidreza Karbalaei-Musa,1Mohammad Hossein Hajali,2Mohamad Mohsen Homayouni ,3,*
1. Student research committee, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2. Student research committee, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3. Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Introduction: Parasitic infections in children can affect their growth, health, nutritional status and cognitive development. The aim of this study was to evaluate intestinal parasitic infections and their relationship with the nutritional status of primary school students in Tehran in 2020.
Methods: The current study was conducted on 250 samples collected by the available sampling method from two selected residential settlements in Tehran. For all samples, in addition to the direct test method, the formalin-ether concentration method (Sedimentation method) was used. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire was used to assess nutritional status. The collected data were entered into SPSS 23 and descriptive statistics were performed using the Chi-square statistical test. A significance level of 0.05 was considered.
Results: Out of 250 samples collected from students, 40 cases had a parasitic infection. In terms of nutrition, 18 cases were malnourished, 212 cases were exposed to malnutrition, 20 cases had normal nutrition, and there was a significant relationship between parasitic infection and malnutrition (p<0/05); Also, there was a significant correlation between parasitic infection and malnutrition in children and the level of education of their parents. It seems that some pathogenic parasites are still common in the region and should be carefully monitored.
Conclusion: Our findings showed that parasitic infection is associated with malnutrition in children; therefore, raising health awareness in the field of individual health and nutrition among students and parents is essential.