Background

Placental malaria (PM) has been associated with a higher risk of malaria during infancy. However, it is unclear whether this association is causal, and is modified by infant sex, and whether intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) can reduce infant malaria by preventing PM.

Methods

Data from a birth cohort of 656 infants born to HIV-uninfected mothers randomised to IPTp with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) or Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) was analysed. PM was categorized as no PM, active PM (presence of parasites), mild-moderate past PM (> 0-20% high powered fields [HPFs] with pigment), or severe past PM (> 20% HPFs with pigment). The association between PM and incidence of malaria in infants stratified by infant sex was examined. Causal mediation analysis was used to test whether IPTp can impact infant malaria incidence via preventing PM.

Results

There were 1088 malaria episodes diagnosed among infants during 596.6 person years of follow-up. Compared to infants born to mothers with no PM, the incidence of malaria was higher among infants born to mothers with active PM (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 1.30, 95% CI 1.00-1.71, p = 0.05) and those born to mothers with severe past PM (aIRR 1.28, 95% CI 0.89-1.83, p = 0.18), but the differences were not statistically significant. However, when stratifying by infant sex, compared to no PM, severe past PM was associated a higher malaria incidence in male (aIRR 2.17, 95% CI 1.45-3.25, p < 0.001), but not female infants (aIRR 0.74, 95% CI 0.46-1.20, p = 0.22). There were no significant associations between active PM or mild-moderate past PM and malaria incidence in male or female infants. Male infants born to mothers given IPTp with DP had significantly less malaria in infancy than males born to mothers given SP, and 89.7% of this effect was mediated through prevention of PM.

Conclusion

PM may have more severe consequences for male infants, and interventions which reduce PM could mitigate these sex-specific adverse outcomes. More research is needed to better understand this sex-bias between PM and infant malaria risk. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02793622. Registered 8 June 2016, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02793622.

Background

Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy (IPTp) with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) significantly reduces the burden of malaria during pregnancy compared to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), the current standard of care, but its impact on the incidence of malaria during infancy is unknown.

Methods

We conducted a double-blind randomized trial to compare the incidence of malaria during infancy among infants born to HIV-uninfected pregnant women who were randomized to monthly IPTp with either DP or SP. Infants were followed for all their medical care in a dedicated study clinic, and routine assessments were conducted every 4 weeks. At all visits, infants with fever and a positive thick blood smear were diagnosed and treated for malaria. The primary outcome was malaria incidence during the first 12 months of life. All analyses were done by modified intention to treat.

Results

Of the 782 women enrolled, 687 were followed through delivery from December 9, 2016, to December 5, 2017, resulting in 678 live births: 339 born to mothers randomized to SP and 339 born to those randomized to DP. Of these, 581 infants (85.7%) were followed up to 12 months of age. Overall, the incidence of malaria was lower among infants born to mothers randomized to DP compared to SP, but the difference was not statistically significant (1.71 vs 1.98 episodes per person-year, incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.73-1.03, p = 0.11). Stratifying by infant sex, IPTp with DP was associated with a lower incidence of malaria among male infants (IRR 0.75, 95% CI 0.58-0.98, p = 0.03) but not female infants (IRR 0.99, 95% CI 0.79-1.24, p = 0.93).

Conclusion

Despite the superiority of DP for IPTp, there was no evidence of a difference in malaria incidence during infancy in infants born to mothers who received DP compared to those born to mothers who received SP. Only male infants appeared to benefit from IPTp-DP suggesting that IPTp-DP may provide additional benefits beyond birth. Further research is needed to further explore the benefits of DP versus SP for IPTp on the health outcomes of infants.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02793622 . Registered on June 8, 2016.