Malaria prophylaxis in different age groups

Abstract

Background: There is a perceived increased health risk in senior visitors to malaria endemic countries. Methods: The authors sought to compare effectiveness and tolerability of malaria chemoprophylaxis in senior travelers (≥60 years) with those in younger travelers (20-59 years). The "Malpro 2" database consists of more than 100,000 questionnaires completed by travelers on charter planes returning from East Africa to Europe during July 1988-December 1991. Among them, 9106 (9.1%) of the travelers were 60 years or older, and 84,562 (84.6%) of the travelers reported to be 20-59 years. Variables of demography, travel data, and the effectiveness and tolerability of chemoprophylaxis were compared in the two subgroups. Results: Malaria in Africa was reported by 8 (1/1000) elderly travelers and by 189 (2.2/1000) travelers aged 20-59 years. Adjusting for age, sex, prophylaxis, and duration of stay in Africa in a logistic regression model, malaria was significantly more frequent in younger than in senior travelers (p