{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T01:31:05Z","timestamp":1785893465322,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,15]],"date-time":"2023-04-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1681516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Research Commission","award":["614739 A-HERO"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["614739 A-HERO"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Malnutrition and parasitic infections are often interconnected in a vicious cycle. Malnutrition can lead to changes in immune response, which may affect cytokine concentrations and potentially increase susceptibility to infections. In turn, parasitic infections can exacerbate malnutrition by impairing nutrient absorption. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore this interplay. Schoolchildren aged 6\u201312 years living in rural Tanzania (n = 120) provided blood, stool and urine samples to determine the relationship between cytokine concentrations (interleukin 4 (IL-4), interferon gamma (IFN\u03b3) and interleukin 17A (IL-17A)), parasitic infections, undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency adjusting for sex, age, inflammatory markers, socioeconomic status and school categories. All schoolchildren had a normal blood cell count. The concentration of IL-4 was significantly higher in schoolchildren diagnosed with stunting, Schistosoma\u00a0mansoni infection, a high C-reactive protein concentration, nausea, poor housing and increasing age. The concentration of IFN\u03b3 was associated with Plasmodium falciparum and Entamoeba histolytica\/Entamoeba dispar\/Entamoeba moshkovskii infections, vitamin A deficiency, attending the most remote schools and low socioeconomic status. Our study confirms a potential relationship between cytokine concentrations and parasitic infections, malnutrition and low socioeconomic status. A better understanding of long-term effects of parasitic infections and malnutrition on the immune function could help in designing tailored and effective interventions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu15081916","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,17]],"date-time":"2023-04-17T01:34:15Z","timestamp":1681695255000},"page":"1916","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Correlation of Cytokines with Parasitic Infections, Undernutrition and Micronutrient Deficiency among Schoolchildren in Rural Tanzania: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6707-7040","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emmanuel C.","family":"Mrimi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland"},{"name":"University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland"},{"name":"Ifakara Health Institute, Morogoro P.O. Box 53, Tanzania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4709-2489","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marta S.","family":"Palmeirim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland"},{"name":"University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elihaika G.","family":"Minja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland"},{"name":"University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland"},{"name":"Ifakara Health Institute, Morogoro P.O. Box 53, Tanzania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kurt Z.","family":"Long","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland"},{"name":"University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0290-3521","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jennifer","family":"Keiser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland"},{"name":"University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"220","DOI":"10.1038\/nrgastro.2012.239","article-title":"The impoverished gut\u2014A triple burden of diarrhoea, stunting and chronic disease","volume":"10","author":"Guerrant","year":"2013","journal-title":"Nat. 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