Prevalence of Placental Malaria Relative to Placental Cytokines and Birth Anthropometry Among Sub-Sahara Black African Women in their First or Second Pregnancy

Introduction: Pregnancy is a complex condition during which pathological complications such as iron deficiency anemia, infections, under- or over-nutrition and excessive production of cytokines may occur to jeopardize the well-being of the fetus. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the interactions between placental or peripheral malaria (PlacMal or PerMal), Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α), Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), Iron deficiency anemia (IDA), Platelets (Plt) and immature granulocytes (IG) in the placenta and neonatal birthweight, birth length and birth head circumference among study subjects in their 1st or 2nd pregnancy in Nigeria. Materials and Method: This was part of a prospective and exploratory study carried out among women in their 1st and 2nd pregnancy at Ikorodu General Hospital and its annex, Ita-Elewa Primary Health Care Center at Ikorodu, Lagos, Nigeria. Complete data from 78 women in their 1st or 2nd pregnancy who were assessed for TNF-α and IFN-γ, and whose socio-demographic characteristics, ante-natal history, birth anthropometry, placental hemogram and malaria parasitemia were recorded and analyzed. Data analysis was conducted using NCSS and STATA softwares. Results: Study participants in their 2nd pregnancy were significantly older (t-test=4.51, P-value=0.00004) and heavier (t-test=2.44, P-value=0.02) than those in their 1st pregnancy. While the means of TNF-α