Author(s)

Roméo Mèdéssè Togan^1,2,3*, Ounoo Elom Takassi⁴, Fifonsi Gbeasor-Komlanvi^1,2, Arnold Junior Sadio^1,2,3,5, Rodion Yao Konu^1,2,3,5, Martin Kouame Tchankoni^1,2,3, Iwone Oumarou Adama², Latame Komla Adoli^1,2, Dzayissé Yawo Atakouma⁴, Didier Koumavi Ekouévi^1,2,3,5

¹Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lomé, Lomé, Togo.
²African Center for Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CARESP), Lomé, Togo.
³Training and Research Center in Public Health, University of Lomé, Lomé, Togo.
⁴Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lomé, Lomé, Togo.
⁵Global Health in the Global South (GHIGS) Team, Insem UMR 1219, IRD EMR 271, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.

Background: Since 2012, the World Health Organization has recommended intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPT-SP) to prevent malaria-related complications in pregnant women. Ten years following these recommendations, we conducted this study to estimate the coverage for three doses of IPT-SP (IPT3) as well as the prevalence of low birth weight (LBW), and its associated factors in Lomé (Togo) in 2021. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2021. An exhaustive recruitment of women and their newborns was carried out in the maternity wards of the Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital Center. Data from antenatal consultations and clinical data of the newborns were collected. Multivariate logistic regression was carried out to determine factors associated with LBW. Results: A total of 252 mother-child pairs were included in this study. Median age of the mothers was 27 years, IQR [24-31]. More than a third (35.3%) of the mothers were primigravida. IPT3 coverage was 66.7% and 14.7% of newborns had a LBW. The prevalence of LBW was 33.3% [23.3-43.4] in women who had received fewer than 3 doses of IPT-SP and 5.4% [2.0-8.8] in those who had received at least 3 doses of IPT-SP (p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, administration of less than three doses was associated with LBW (aOR = 9.3; 95% CI [4.2-22.3]). Conclusion: Ten years following recommendations of the WHO on IPT-SP, malaria prevention based on IPT-SP is not optimal among pregnant women in Lomé, and the proportion of LBW children remains high. Actions to strengthen the three-dose IPT-SP policy are needed to prevent malaria and its consequences among newborns in Togo.

Malaria, Intermittent Preventive Treatment, Low Birth Weight, Togo

Togan, R. , Takassi, O. , Gbeasor-Komlanvi, F. , Sadio, A. , Konu, R. , Tchankoni, M. , Adama, I. , Adoli, L. , Atakouma, D. and Ekouévi, D. (2024) Low Birth Weight and Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnant Women in Lomé (Togo) in 2021: A Cross-Sectional Study. Open Journal of Epidemiology, 14, 31-44. doi: 10.4236/ojepi.2024.141003.