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Published in: Journal of Public Health 3/2022

01-03-2022 | Malaria | Original Article

Geographical distribution of falciparum malaria in the world and its relationship with the human development index (HDI): countries based on the WHO report in 2017

Authors: Elham Goodarzi, Reza Beiranvand, Isan Darvishi, Ahmad Naghibzadeh-Tahami, Seyyede Maryam Bechashk, Hasan Naemi, Zaher Khazaei

Published in: Journal of Public Health | Issue 3/2022

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Abstract

Aim

Malaria is one of the most serious public health issues worldwide and is still responsible for the deaths of nearly half a million individuals every year worldwide. The aim of this study is to investigate the epidemiology of the incidence of and mortality from malaria and its association with the human development index (HDI).

Subjects and methods

The present research is an ecological study conducted in 2017 that explored the association between the HDI and incidence of and mortality from malaria in WHO regions based on data extracted from the World Bank. In this study, the two-variable correlation method was adopted to analyze the data extracted to investigate the correlation between malaria incidence and HDI. A significance level of P < 0.05 was considered. The analyses were performed using Stata14 software.

Results

The highest incidence of malaria in the world was reported in 2001 (80.73 per 1000 people) and the lowest in 2017 (59.12 per 1000). The results revealed a significant reverse correlation between malaria incidence (r = −0.640, P < 0.0001) and the HDI index in 2017. The analysis of HDI decomposites with malaria incidence in 2017 demonstrated a reverse and significant correlation between malaria incidence and gross national income per 1000 capita (r = −0.365, P < 0.0001), mean years of schooling (r = −0.477, P < 0.0001), life expectancy at birth (r = −0.694, P < 0.0001) and expected years of schooling (r = −0.458, P < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Given the reverse correlation between malaria incidence and HDI, a greater emphasis on factors associated with the disease in these countries, effective prevention and awareness raising about the means of transmission can be effective in curbing the incidence of this disease.
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Metadata
Title
Geographical distribution of falciparum malaria in the world and its relationship with the human development index (HDI): countries based on the WHO report in 2017
Authors
Elham Goodarzi
Reza Beiranvand
Isan Darvishi
Ahmad Naghibzadeh-Tahami
Seyyede Maryam Bechashk
Hasan Naemi
Zaher Khazaei
Publication date
01-03-2022
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Keyword
Malaria
Published in
Journal of Public Health / Issue 3/2022
Print ISSN: 2198-1833
Electronic ISSN: 1613-2238
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01336-6

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