Intestinal helminth infections, anaemia and labour productivity of female tea pluckers in Bangladesh

• Published in: Tropical medicine & international health 2001-06, Vol.6 (6), p.449-457
• Main Authors: Gilgen, D. D., Mascie‐Taylor, C. G. N. C. G. N., Rosetta, L. L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Agriculture; Albendazole - therapeutic use; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency - drug therapy; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency - economics; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency - parasitology; Anthelmintics - therapeutic use; Ascariasis - complications; Ascariasis - drug therapy; Ascariasis - economics; Ascaris; Bangladesh - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; deworming; Dietary Supplements; Drug Therapy, Combination; Efficiency; Female; Ferrous Compounds - therapeutic use; Folic Acid - therapeutic use; Helminthiasis - complications; Helminthiasis - drug therapy; Helminthiasis - economics; Helminthic diseases; Hookworm Infections - complications; Hookworm Infections - drug therapy; Hookworm Infections - economics; Humans; Income; Infectious diseases; iron supplementation; labour productivity; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Nutritional Status; Parasitic diseases; Sick Leave - statistics & numerical data; Tea; tea pluckers; Trichuriasis - complications; Trichuriasis - drug therapy; Trichuriasis - economics; Trichuris and hookworm infections; Tropical medicine
• ISSN: 1360-2276; 1365-3156
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-3156.2001.00729.x

We conducted a randomized clinical intervention trial over 24 weeks on a tea estate in north‐east Bangladesh to investigate the effect of iron supplementation and anthelmintic treatment on the labour productivity of adult female tea pluckers. A total of 553 full‐time tea pluckers, not pregnant and not breastfeeding, were randomly assigned to one of the four intervention groups: group 1 received iron supplementation on a weekly basis, group 2 received anthelmintic treatment at the beginning and half‐way through the trial (week 12), group 3 received both iron supplementation as group 1 and anthelmintic treatment as group 2, and group 4 was a control group and received placebos. No significant difference in labour productivity was found between the four intervention groups over the trial period. However, there was a negative association for all three worms (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworms) between the intensity of helminth infections (eggs/g faeces) and all measures of labour productivity. Lower haemoglobin values and anaemia (