Haplotype of non-synonymous mutations within IL-23R is associated with susceptibility to severe malaria anemia in a P. falciparum holoendemic transmission area of Kenya

Table 1 Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the study participants

	Clinical groups^a
Characteristics	non-SMA (Hb ≥ 6.0 g/dL) n = 207	SMA (Hb < 6.0 g/dL) n = 162	P value
Sex, n (%)
Male	107 (51.7)	74 (45.7)	0.252^b
Female	100 (48.3)	88 (54.3)	0.252^b
Age, (months)	13.0 (7.8, 19.0)	9.6 (6.6, 16.3)	0.019 ^c
Parasite/μL	14,711.7 (3257.4, 48,353.7)	15,656.6 (3258.0, 46,598.1)	0.760^c
Temperature, (°C)	37.6 (36.8, 38.6)	37.9 (36.9, 38.5)	0.542^c
Respiration rate, (breaths/min)	30.0 (24.0, 40.0)	32.0 (28.0, 40.0)	<0.028 ^c
Hematological Parameters
Hemoglobin, g/dL	9.4 (8.1, 11.2)	5.0 (4.3, 5.5)	<0.001 ^c
Hematocrit, %	29.0 (24.8, 34.6)	16.1 (13.5, 17.8)	<0.001 ^c
RBC, × (10¹²/μL)	4.2 (3.6, 4.9)	2.2 (1.9, 2.7)	<0.001 ^c
RDW, %	19.6 (16.5, 21.5)	22.9 (21.1, 25.8)	<0.001 ^c
WBC (×10³/uL)	10.9 (9.0, 14.3)	13.0 (9.2, 17.4)	0.010 ^c
Platelet Counts (×10³/uL)	176.0 (122.0, 282.0)	147.5 (105.0, 200.5)	<0.001 ^c
Confounding factors
Infections
Bacteremia, n (%)	46 (46.9)	52 (53.1)	0.035
HIV-1, n (%)	9 (39.1)	14 (60.9)	0.090
Genetic factors
Sickle cell trait	1 (20.0)	4 (80.0)	0.110
G6PD	12 (66.7)	6 (33.3)	0.310
Alpha-thalassemia	35 (46.1)	41 (53.9)	0.070

Data are presented as the median (interquartile range; IQR) and n (%) unless stated otherwise
Abbreviations: G6PD Glucose-6-phospahte dehydrogenase, RBC red blood cells, RDW red cell distribution width, WBC white blood cells
^aChildren with P. falciparum malaria (n = 369) were categorized as non-SMA (n = 207) and SMA (n = 162) according to modified definition of SMA (Hb < 6.0 g/dL, with any density parasitemia)
^bStatistical significance was determined by the Chi-square (χ²) analysis
^cStatistical significance was determined using Mann-Whitney U test
Values in bold are significant p-values at a cut-off of p < 0.05

ISSN: 1471-2334