The impact of malaria on common lipid parameters

No data are available in the literature to indicate whether low-level Plasmodium falciparum infections induce lipid parameter changes. We hypothesized that low-level P. falciparum infections induce significant changes in common lipid parameters. We retrospectively selected samples from a malaria prophylaxis study to measure the impact of sustained parasite clearance on common lipid parameters [total cholesterol (TChol), high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (LDL-c) and triglycerides (TG)] in 47 apparently healthy schoolchildren whose P. falciparum parasitemia was initially below 1000/ microl. After parasite clearance, mean values were significantly increased for Tchol ( P