• Login
    View Item 
    •   Repository Home
    • Staff Publications
    • School of Health Sciences & School of Nursing
    • View Item
    •   Repository Home
    • Staff Publications
    • School of Health Sciences & School of Nursing
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Measuring Fitness of Kenyan Children with Polyparasitic Infections Using the 20-Meter Shuttle Run Test as a Morbidity Metric

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    journal.pntd.0001213.PDF (771.3Kb)
    Date
    2011
    Author
    Bustinduy, Amaya L.
    Thomas, Charles L.
    Fiutem, Justin J. {et al}
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    To date, there has been no standardized approach to the assessment of aerobic fitness among children who harbor parasites. In quantifying the disability associated with individual or multiple chronic infections, accurate measures of physical fitness are important metrics. This is because exercise intolerance, as seen with anemia and many other chronic disorders, reflects the body’s inability to maintain adequate oxygen supply (VO2 max) to the motor tissues, which is frequently linked to reduced quality-of-life in terms of physical and job performance. The objective of our study was to examine the associations between polyparasitism, anemia, and reduced fitness in a high risk Kenyan population using novel implementation of the 20-meter shuttle run test (20mSRT), a well-standardized, low-technology physical fitness test. Four villages in coastal Kenya were surveyed during 2009–2010. Children 5–18 years were tested for infection with Schistosoma haematobium (Sh), malaria, filaria, and geohelminth infections by standard methods. After anthropometric and hemoglobin testing, fitness was assessed with the 20 mSRT. The 20 mSRT proved easy to perform, requiring only minimal staff training. Parasitology revealed high prevalence of single and multiple parasitic infections in all villages, with Sh being the most common (25–62%). Anemia prevalence was 45–58%. Using multiplyadjusted linear modeling that accounted for household clustering, decreased aerobic capacity was significantly associated with anemia, stunting, and wasting, with some gender differences. Conclusions/Significance: The 20 mSRT, which has excellent correlation with VO2, is a highly feasible fitness test for lowresource settings. Our results indicate impaired fitness is common in areas endemic for parasites, where, at least in part, low fitness scores are likely to result from anemia and stunting associated with chronic infection. The 20 mSRT should be used as a common metric to quantify physical fitness and compare sub-clinical disability across many different disorders and community settings.
    URI
    http://repository.must.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1429
    Collections
    • School of Health Sciences & School of Nursing [191]

    MUST Repository copyright © 2002-2016  MUST Repository
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Theme by 
    MUST Repository
     

     

    Browse

    All of the RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    MUST Repository copyright © 2002-2016  MUST Repository
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Theme by 
    MUST Repository