Association between Plasmodium falciparum malaria and the mental health of children between five years and nineteen years in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review

Review objectives The objective of this review is to identify and synthesise the best available evidence on the association of Plasmodium falciparum malaria and the short-term and long-term mental health deficiencies of children aged between 5 years and 19 years in sub-Saharan Africa. More specifically, the objectives are to identify the effects of malaria episodes on children’s memory, attention, general school performance, schizophrenic and manic syndromes, typical and atypical depression, anxiety attacks, mental confusion, amnesia, irritability, violence and acute personality changes. In addition, this review will also consider studies that look at other negative sequelae such as visual hallucinations, motor agitation and those that report negative effects on the executive functions of the victims in sub-Saharan Africa. Inclusion criteria Type of participants This review will consider studies that include children aged between 5 years and 19 years, who reside in sub-Saharan Africa. Children below 5 years of age are prone to active bouts of falciparum malaria as compared to older children, 18 hence the lower age limit of 5 years to capture persons less prone to active malaria disease. The review focuses on children; the upper age limit of that group is 19 years. Phenomenon of interest/exposure This review will consider studies that examine the association between severe malaria, cerebral malaria, repetitive uncomplicated malaria or asymptomatic malaria and mental disorders. Type of outcomes The main outcome of interest is the association between malaria and mental health outcomes. This review will consider studies that include the following mental health outcome measures: cognitive deficits and impairments, acquired language disorder, school performance and psychomotor skills