RESUMO
Resumen Objetivo: Describir el perfil de publicaciones en malaria asociada al embarazo en el ámbito mundial, con base en los países, tipos y años de estudio, 1925-2018. Metodología: Revisión sistemática de la literatura, mediante el seguimiento de la guía prisma y garantizando la reproducibilidad del protocolo de selección y extracción de variables. Se aplicaron doce estrategias de búsqueda en PubMed, Science Direct, SciELO y Google Scholar. Se realizó síntesis cualitativa mediante frecuencias para el país, año de estudio y tipología de investigación. Resultados: Se tamizaron 3362 publicaciones, de las cuales 617 cumplieron el protocolo. El 81,5 % fueron de África, 9,9 % de Asia y 5,3 % de América. La mayor proporción de publicaciones fue posterior al 2009. El 65,8 % fueron estudios observacionales; el 22,0 %, ensayos clínicos, y los estudios cualitativos, de evaluación económica o evaluación de programas y políticas, fueron menores al 5 %. No se hallaron estudios de pruebas diagnósticas, evaluación de programas o investigaciones cualitativas en América. Conclusión: El perfil de publicaciones evidencia el predominio de la investigación epidemiológica tradicional-positivista y su concentración en África, lo que implica retos para las agendas sanitarias y de investigación en salud pública, pero con mayor necesidad en América.
Abstract Objective: To describe the profile of publications on pregnancy-associated malaria worldwide, based on countries, types and years of study, 1925-2018. Methodology: Systematic review of the literature, by monitoring the PRISMA guide and guaranteeing the reproducibility of the variable selection and extraction protocol. Twelve search strategies were applied in PubMed, Science Direct, SciELO and Google Scholar. Qualitative synthesis was performed using frequencies for the country, year of study and type of research. Results: 3362 publications were screened, of which 617 complied with the protocol. 81.5% were from Africa, 9.9% from Asia and 5.3% from America. The highest proportion of publications was after 2009. 65.8% were observational studies; 22.0%, clinical trials, while qualitative studies, economic evaluation studies or evaluation studies of programs and policies accounted for less than 5%. No studies of diagnostic tests, evaluation of programs or qualitative research were found in America. Conclusion: The profile of publications shows the predominance of traditional-positivist epidemiological research and its concentration in Africa, which implies challenges for health and research agendas in public health, but with greater need in America.
Resumo Objetivo: Descrever o perfil das publicações sobre malária associada à gravidez no âmbito mundial, com base nos países, tipos e anos de estudo, 1925-2018. Metodologia: Revisão sistemática da literatura através do seguimento da recomendação PRISMA e garantindo a reprodutibilidade do protocolo de seleção e extração de variáveis. Foram aplicadas doce estratégias de busca em PubMed, Science Direct, SciELO e Google Scholar. Foi realizada síntese qualitativa através de frequências para o país, ano do estudo e tipologia de pesquisa. Resultados: Foram escolhidas 3362 publicações, das quais 617 cumpriram o protocolo. Um total de 81,5% foi da África, 9,9% da Ásia e 5,3% da América. O maior número proporcional de publicações foi posterior a 2009. Os estudos observacionais registraram 65,8%; os ensaios clínicos 22,0% e os estudos qualitativos, de avaliação econômica ou avaliação de programas e políticas registrados foram menores a 5%. Não foram encontrados estudos de testes diagnósticos, avaliação de programas ou pesquisas qualitativas na América. Conclusão: O perfil das publicações evidencia a predominância da pesquisa epidemiológica positivista tradicional e sua concentração na África, o que representa desafios para as agendas de saúde e de pesquisa em saúde pública, mas com uma necessidade maior na América.
RESUMO
Pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) poses a threat to both the mother and fetus, increasing the risk of severe maternal anemia, fetal growth restriction and low birth weight infants. Two vaccines are currently in development to protect women from Plasmodium falciparum in pregnancy. Both vaccine constructs target the ID1-DBL2X domain of VAR2CSA, a protein expressed on the surface of infected erythrocytes (IEs) that mediates parasite sequestration in the placenta. Although development of an effective vaccine may be hampered by ID1-DBL2X polymorphisms expressed by field isolates, a recent study showed that genetic variation of this domain in South American parasite populations is much lower than in other geographical locations. This suggests that a recombinant vaccine designed to be efficacious in Africa and Asia is likely to be efficacious in South America. However, these studies did not include Colombian parasite populations in their analyses, which are known to be genetically distinct from other South American parasite populations due to their independent introduction from Africa. Therefore, we sought to determine the genetic variation of the ID1-DBL2X domain in Colombian parasites to assess the potential efficacy of the vaccine against PAM in this region. Through sequence analysis and population genetics, we show that there is a low degree of genetic variation amongst Colombian parasite populations and that a vaccine containing conserved antigen variants for worldwide populations is likely to be protective against PAM in Colombia. Our analysis also points towards an African origin for Colombian parasite populations, and suggests that their introduction into Colombia was a recurrent process encompassing multiple introduction events.