PLoS medicine
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Observational Study
Neurocognitive outcomes in Malawian children exposed to malaria during pregnancy: An observational birth cohort study.
Annually 125 million pregnancies are at risk of malaria infection. However, the impact of exposure to malaria in pregnancy on neurodevelopment in children is not well understood. We hypothesized that malaria in pregnancy and associated maternal immune activation result in neurodevelopmental delay in exposed offspring. ⋯ This mother-baby cohort presents evidence of a relationship between malaria in pregnancy and neurodevelopmental delay in offspring. Malaria in pregnancy may be a modifiable risk factor for neurodevelopmental injury independent of birth weight or prematurity. Successful interventions to prevent malaria during pregnancy may reduce the risk of neurocognitive delay in children.
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003661.].
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003487.].
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Caitlin Moyer discusses PLOS Medicine's Special Issue on Global Child and Adolescent Health.