Effects of Malaria on Iron Stores in the Pregnant Women of Buea and Tiko Health District, South West Region, Cameroon

Malaria infection has a complex effect on iron metabolism that may affect the interpretation of haemoglobin, serum ferritin, serum transferrin and serum iron. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of malaria parasitaemia on the iron store forms of pregnant women in the Buea and Tiko health districts of the S.W Region of Cameroon. This investigation was carried out from the 3rd of August 2011 to the 30th of April 2012. The non-probabilistic sampling method was used to recruit a total of 377 pregnant women into the study. Questionnaires were used for the collection of secondary data. The microscopy method was used to detect the presence of malaria infection. A total of 41.4% (156/377) of the pregnant women were infected with Plasmodium falciparum. Of the infected cases; 32.1% had low levels of serum ferritin ( 360 mg/dl), and 45.5% had low levels of serum iron (<9.0 μmol/l). The quantitative results using regression analysis justified that 88% variation in serum ferritin, transferrin and iron were accounted for by variation in malaria parasitaemia during the second and the third trimesters. Serum iron, ferritin and transferrin measurements should be incorporated as one of the routine laboratory tests during the regular antenatal care visits.