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Table 4 Relationship between low birth weight, premature, and small for gestational age births and placental malaria, 2010–2014, Dar es Salaam, Tanzaniaa,b

From: Factors associated with sub-microscopic placental malaria and its association with adverse pregnancy outcomes among HIV-negative women in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: a cohort study

Exposure of interest

Proportion distribution of exposure n (%)

Univariable model

Multivariable model

Outcome

No outcome

RR [95% CI]

P-value

RR [95% CI]

P-value

Low birth weight outcomec

 Placental malaria

  

n = 922

 

n = 922

 

  Negative

72 (8.7)

756 (91.3)

Ref

 

Ref

 

  DNA PCR positive

7 (5.4)

123 (94.6)

0.46 [0.25, 0.85]

0.01

0.58 [0.23, 1.45]d

0.25

  Histopathology positive

7 (7.8)

83 (92.2)

0.86 [0.50, 1.46]

0.57

0.90 [0.43, 1.90]d

0.79

Premature births outcomee

 Placental malaria

  

n = 917

 

n = 917

 

  Negative

175 (21.2)

651 (78.8)

Ref

 

Ref

 

  DNA PCR positive

32 (24.8)

97 (75.2)

1.10 [0.87, 1.40]

0.42

1.14 [0.90, 1.45]

0.27

  Histopathology positive

24 (26.7)

66 (73.3)

1.18 [0.90, 1.53]

0.23

1.16 [0.89, 1.52]

0.26

Small for gestational age outcomee

 Placental malaria

  

n = 892

 

n = 892

 

  Negative

144 (18.0)

656 (82.0)

Ref

 

Ref

 

  DNA PCR positive

16 (12.4)

113 (87.6)

0.60 [0.42, 0.86]

0.01

0.61 [0.43, 0.88]

0.01

  Histopathology positive

20 (22.5)

69 (77.5)

1.25 [0.94, 1.65]

0.13

1.30 [0.98, 1.72]

0.07

  1. RR is a relative risk
  2. CI is the confidence interval
  3. The negative placental test was referring to negative to both PCR and histopathology tests
  4. a All multivariable models were adjusted for employment, years of education, wealth quartiles, supplements regimen, gravidity, use of combination malaria preventions, twin pregnant status, BMI, and anemia status at baseline
  5. b Weighted models were used to account for missing placenta samples for placental malaria diagnosis
  6. c Low birth weight is defined as live born with a birth weight below 2.5 kg
  7. d Multivariate Poisson distribution was applied to estimate relative risk because of the log-binomial model did not converge with desired covariates
  8. e Premature births were defined as live born delivered before 37 weeks of gestation
  9. e Small for gestational age birth was defined as live born infants with a birth weight below 10th percentile for sex and gestational age, based on INTERGROWTH-21st standards