A longitudinal cohort study of soil-transmitted helminth infections during the second year of life and associations with reduced long-term cognitive and verbal abilities

摘要

Author summary Intestinal worm infections are parasites that can have serious health consequences, including malnutrition. They affect over one billion people in low and middle income countries. It has been proposed that intestinal worm infections can have a negative effect on brain development in young children. This topic, however, has not yet been properly researched. The goal of this study, therefore, was to investigate the effect of worm infections on cognitive and verbal abilities in preschool children between one and five years of age. The study was conducted in the Amazon region of Peru. Children who were infected with these worms between one and two years of age had lower scores on tests of cognitive and verbal abilities between two and five years of age. These results provide empirical evidence suggesting that worm infections may contribute to cognitive impairment in children. Furthermore, they provide support for appropriate control programs targeted to preschool children living in endemic areas and suggest that such programs may lead to improvements in cognitive development.