Effect of Mass Deworming on Child Growth

October 16, 2006 updated by: Makerere University

Increased Weight Gain in Preschool Children Due to Mass Albendazole Treatment Given During "Child Health Days" in Uganda

The purpose of the study was to determine whether periodical mass deworming improves growth in children below six years of age.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Many children in developing countries get slowed growth because of heavy loads of intestinal helminths. Quite often treatment is not sought because there may not be any obvious symptoms. Slowed growth may manifest as low weight for age or low height for age.

The objective of the study was to estimate the effectiveness of the delivery of an anthelmintic drug through a community child health program on the weight gain of preschool aged children.

Design: This was a cluster randomized controlled trial in 48 parishes in Eastern Uganda. All 48 parishes were participating in a new program for child health; 24 were randomly assigned to offer to children an additional service of anthelmintic treatment. The intervention was 400 mg of albendazole added to the standard services at child days over a 3 years period. All children were offered the drug and the main outcome measure was weight gain.

Results: A total of 27,995 children were recruited into the 2 arms of the study with 14,940 in the treatment arm and 13,055 in the control arm. The intervention arm got an increase in weight gain of about 10% (166 grams per child per year (CI: 16-316) above expected weight gain when treatment was taken twice a year and an increase of 5% when treatment was received approximately annually.

Conclusion: The inclusion of deworming in regularly scheduled health services appears practical and capable of increasing child growth.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

10000

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Uganda
      • Kampala, Uganda
        • 48 parishes in Eastern Uganda

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

1 year to 7 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • children 1-6 years

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
weight gain
weight for age

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Makerere University

Collaborators

Ministry of Health, Uganda
World Bank

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Joseph K Konde-Lule, MD DPH MSc, Makerere University
  • Study Chair: John F Mutumba, MBChB, MSc, Ministry of Health, Uganda

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

August 1, 2000

Study Completion

November 1, 2003

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 14, 2006

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 25, 2006

First Posted (Estimate)

June 27, 2006

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

October 17, 2006

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 16, 2006

Last Verified

June 1, 2006

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • P05267

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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