{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,10]],"date-time":"2026-01-10T21:25:20Z","timestamp":1768080320892,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Malar J"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2011,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>It is controversial to what degree \u03b1<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>-thalassaemia protects against episodes of uncomplicated malaria and febrile disease due to infections other than <jats:italic>Plasmodium<\/jats:italic>.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>In Tanzania, in children aged 6-60 months and height-for-age z-score &lt; -1.5 SD (n = 612), rates of fevers due to malaria and other causes were compared between those with heterozygous or homozygotes \u03b1<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>-thalassaemia and those with a normal genotype, using Cox regression models that accounted for multiple events per child.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>The overall incidence of malaria was 3.0\/child-year (1, 572\/526 child-years); no differences were found in malaria rates between genotypes (hazard ratios, 95% CI: 0.93, 0.82-1.06 and 0.91, 0.73-1.14 for heterozygotes and homozygotes respectively, adjusted for baseline factors that were predictive for outcome). However, this association strongly depended on age: among children aged 6-17 months, those with \u03b1<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>-thalassaemia experienced episodes more frequently than those with a normal genotype (1.30, 1.02-1.65 and 1.15, 0.80-1.65 for heterozygotes and homozygotes respectively), whereas among their peers aged 18-60 months, \u03b1<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>-thalassaemia protected against malaria (0.80, 0.68-0.95 and 0.78, 0.60-1.03; p-value for interaction 0.001 and 0.10 for hetero- and homozygotes respectively). No effect was observed on non-malarial febrile episodes.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>In this population, the association between \u03b1<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>-thalassaemia and malaria depends on age. Our data suggest that protection by \u03b1<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>-thalassaemia is conferred by more efficient acquisition of malaria-specific immunity.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/1475-2875-10-280","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2011,9,23]],"date-time":"2011-09-23T07:23:52Z","timestamp":1316762632000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Effect of \u03b1+-thalassaemia on episodes of fever due to malaria and other causes: a community-based cohort study in Tanzania"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Jacobien","family":"Veenemans","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Esther JS","family":"Jansen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Amrish Y","family":"Baidjoe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Erasto V","family":"Mbugi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ay\u015fe Y","family":"Demir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rob J","family":"Kraaijenhagen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Huub FJ","family":"Savelkoul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hans","family":"Verhoef","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2011,9,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"1864_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"401","DOI":"10.1086\/589884","volume":"198","author":"J Veenemans","year":"2008","unstructured":"Veenemans J, Andang'o PEA, Mbugi EV, Kraaijenhagen RJ, Mwaniki DL, Mockenhaupt FP, Roewer S, Olomi RM, Shao JF, Van der Meer JWM, Savelkoul HFJ, Verhoef H: \u03b1+-thalassemia protects against anemia associated with asymptomatic malaria: evidence from community-based surveys in Kenya and Tanzania. 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