Measuring the Effect of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections on Cognitive Function in Children: Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal of Evidence.

Measuring the Effect of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections on Cognitive Function in Children: Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal of Evidence. Adv Parasitol. 2017;98:1-37 Authors: Owada K, Nielsen M, Lau CL, Clements ACA, Yakob L, Soares Magalhães RJ Abstract Recently the role of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections in children's cognitive developmental impairment has been under scrutiny. We conducted a systematic review of the evidence for associations between STH infections and cognitive function of children using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol. We aimed to identify the domains of cognitive function in three age strata (<24months, 24-59months and ≥60months) and critically appraise the general design protocol of the studies, with a focus on the cognitive function measurement tools used. A total of 42 papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria, including 10 studies from a recent Cochrane review. Our findings demonstrate variation in tested domains, lack of consistency in the use of measurement tools and analysis of results. Cognitive function measures in children aged under 59months have been mainly limited to domains of gross motor, fine motor and language skills, whereas in children aged 60months and above most studies tested domains such as memory and processing speed. Even within the same age group the results on the association between STH infections and measure...
Source: Advances in Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Authors: Tags: Adv Parasitol Source Type: research