***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: The prevalence rate of ascariasis in primary school children in northern Jakarta , Indonesia varies from 60 % to 90 % . An association between helminthic infection and educational achievement has long been recognized . This study was carried out in the northern part of Jakarta among primary school children 6 - 8 years of age .  Treatment of ascariasis and health education were used as the interventions . Before the interventions , basic data on socioeconomic status , epidemiology , infection with Ascaris lumbricoides , nutritional status , and cognitive function were collected . After the interventions , only data on infection with A. lumbricoides , nutritional status , and cognitive function were collected . The children were divided into five groups . Group I was given an anthelminthic ( mebendazole ) , group II was provided with health education , group III was given an antihelminthic and provided with health education , group IV was given a placebo ( controls ) , and group V consisted of egg-negative children , who also served as controls .  Data from 336 students were analyzed by analysis of covariance . Parasitologic examinations showed a mean prevalence rate of 58.4 % for A. lumbricoides infection in the pre-intervention children and a mean prevalence rate of 40.6 % in the post-intervention children . Concerning nutritional status , approximately 80 % of the children showed good scores in the pre- and post-treatment data , and only a small percentage ( 0.9 - 16.2 % ) showed mild or moderate malnutrition . No significant difference was found between the pre- and post-treatment nutritional status . The results of the cognitive test showed that the group treated with mebendazole showed significant improvement in the Colored Progressive Matrices and Coding test . Children also showed an improvement in their learning ability , concentration , and eye-h and coordination after five months of receiving this intervention We studied growth in infected children given one dose ( 600 mg ) or two doses of albendazole per school year . Children were examined and allocated at r and om within sex by descending hookworm egg count to one of three groups : placebo ( n = 93 ) , one dose ( 1x , n = 96 ) or two doses ( 2x , n = 95 ) . Each child was treated and then re-examined and treated 3.6 and 8.2 mo later ( Exams 2 and 3 ) . The 1x and 2x groups gained significantly more by Exam 3 than the placebo group in weight ( 1.1 and 0.9 kg more , respectively ) , percent weight-for-age ( 3.3 and 2.7 percentage points more ) , percent weight-for-height ( 3.1 and 2.9 percentage points more ) , percent arm circumference-for-age ( 2.3 and 2.0 percentage points more ) and triceps and subscapular skinfolds but did not differ significantly from each other . The placebo group showed significant decreases between exams ( P < 0.0002 ) in percent weight-for-age and percent arm circumference-for-age and no change in percent weight-for-height , whereas the 1x and 2x groups exhibited significant increases ( P < 0.005 ) . At Exam 3 , arithmetic mean egg reduction rates for the 1x and 2x groups were 84 and 95 % for hookworm , 42 and 32 % for Trichuris and 55 and 87 % for Ascaris , respectively . We conclude that one or two doses of albendazole per year result ed in similar growth improvements , despite reinfection , in school-age children in an area where these helminths and poor growth are prevalent We studied physical fitness with the Harvard Step Test , growth , and appetite in primary school boys infected with hookworm ( 96 % baseline prevalence ) , Trichuris trichiura ( 98 % prevalence ) and Ascaris lumbricoides ( 41 % prevalence ) who received a single 600-mg dose of albendazole or an identical placebo . Boys were examined , allocated at r and om within pairs by descending hookworm egg count to placebo ( n = 26 ) or albendazole ( n = 27 ) groups , treated , and re-examined 4 mo later . Four months after treatment , the albendazole group showed highly significant improvements in fitness score , resting heart rate , and heart rates at 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 min after the Harvard Step Test , whereas the placebo group had not changed significantly . The albendazole group also exhibited significantly more rapid growth judged by weight gain ( 1.0 kg greater than the placebo group , P < 0.0002 ) , height increment ( 0.6 cm more , P < 0.003 ) , arm circumference ( 0.3 cm more , P < 0.0002 ) , and triceps and subscapular skinfolds ( 1.0 mm more , P < 0.0002 ) , and showed improved appetite with objective and subjective measures . We conclude that single-dose treatment with albendazole can allow improved physical fitness , growth , and appetite in school-age children in areas where these helminths and poor growth are highly prevalent A r and omized controlled trial was conducted in eastern Zaire to assess the effects of high dose vitamin A supplementation and regular deparasitation on the growth of 358 moderately malnourished preschool children , discharged from the hospital . The treatment groups received either vitamin A ( 60 mg of oily solution of retinyl palmitate , 30 mg if aged < 12 mo ) every 6 mo or mebendazole ( 500 mg ) every 3 mo ; the control group received no supplementation .  Anthropometric data were gathered at baseline and after 6 and 12 mo of follow-up . Serum retinol concentrations were measured at baseline and after 3 mo . The three groups did not differ in sociodemographic indicators , age and sex composition , nutritional status and serum retinol concentrations at baseline . In children who were vitamin A deficient at baseline , adjusted mean weight and mid-upper arm circumference ( MUAC ) increments were higher in the vitamin A-supplemented group than in the control group [ annual increment in weight and MUAC in vitamin A vs. control group : 2.088 vs. 1.179 kg ( P = 0.029 ) and 2.24 vs. 0.95 cm ( P = 0.012 ) , respectively ] , whereas growth increment did not differ between the dewormed group and the control group . In children who were not vitamin A deficient at baseline , growth increment did not differ between the vitamin A-supplemented and control groups , whereas weight gain was lower in the dewormed group than in the control group . Vitamin A-supplemented boys gained more weight and height than control boys , whereas vitamin A-supplemented girls gained less height than control girls . Dewormed boys and girls gained less weight than control boys and girls . Programs to improve vitamin A status by high dose vitamin A supplementation may improve growth of preschool children who are vitamin A deficient , whereas deworming does not We evaluated the effects of the  Zanzibar school-based deworming program  on the iron status of primary school children . Parasitologic and nutritional assessment s were carried out at baseline , 6 mo , and 12 mo in 4 nonprogram schools ( n = 1002 ) , 4 schools in which students received twice-yearly deworming ( n = 952 ) , and 4 schools in which students received thrice-yearly deworming ( n = 970 ) with 500 mg generic mebendazole .  Schools were r and omly selected for evaluation and allocated to program groups . Relative to no treatment , thrice-yearly deworming caused significant decreases in protoporphyrin concentrations and both deworming regimens caused marginally significant increases in serum ferritin concentrations . The average annual changes in protoporphyrin concentrations were -5.9 and -23.5 micromol/mol heme in the control and thrice-yearly deworming groups , respectively ( P < 0.001 ) . The average changes in ferritin concentration were 2.8 and 4.5 microg/L , respectively ( P = 0.07 ) . Deworming had no effect on annual hemoglobin change or prevalence of anemia . However , the relative risk of severe anemia ( hemoglobin < 70 g/L ) was 0.77 ( 95 % confidence limits : 0.39 , 1.51 ) in the twice-yearly deworming group and 0.45 ( 0.19 , 1.08 ) in the thrice-yearly deworming group . The effects on prevalence of high protoporphyrin values and incidence of moderate-to-severe anemia ( hemoglobin < 90 g/L ) were significantly greater in children with > 2000 hookworm eggs/g feces at baseline . We estimate that this deworming program prevented 1260 cases of moderate-to-severe anemia and 276 cases of severe anemia in a population of 30,000 schoolchildren in 1 y. Where hookworm is heavily endemic , deworming programs can improve iron status and prevent moderate and severe anemia , but deworming may be needed at least twice yearly One-hundred eighty-five Bangladeshi children age 1 1/2 to 8 yr with no Ascaris lumbricoides infection or with light , moderate , or heavy infection were r and omly assigned to treatment of placebo groups , with treatment given in a double-blind fashion . The groups were comparable for nutritional and socioeconomic parameters . Treatment consisted of a single dose of piperazine citrate administered twice within a 2-wk period . The cure rates for the low , moderate , and heavy A. lumbricoides infected subgroups were 53 , 31 , and 36 % , respectively . With more severe infections , worm eradication was more difficult and the rate of reinfection after treatment was more rapid . The rate of reinfection was significantly different for the low A. lumbricoides infected treatment and placebo subgroups for 5 months after treatment , for the moderate treatment and placebo subgroups for 3 months after treatment , and for the heavy A. lumbricoides infected treatment and placebo subgroups there was a difference , although not significant , for 1 month after treatment . Anthropometric measurements were obtained for a period of 11 months . Analysis of covariance revealed no significant difference for change of weight , change of height , weight-for age , weight-for-height , height-for-age , triceps skinfold , midarm circumference , and the abdominal girth to chest circumference ratio between the treatment and placebo groups after drug administration . The results of this study do not support single dose worm therapy as a means to enhance growth Growth , activity , appetite and intestinal helminth infections were compared for 55 Kenyan primary school children with hookworm ( 93 % prevalence ) , T. trichiura ( 84 % prevalence ) and A. lumbricoides ( 29 % prevalence ) before and 9 wk after treatment with three 400-mg doses of albendazole ( Zentel ) or placebo .  Fecal sample s were examined for helminth eggs using a modified Kato technique . Activity was measured during free-play with motion recorders on the dominant thigh . Children rated their appetites on a 5-point scale . After baseline measurements , children were r and omly allocated to the albendazole-treated ( n = 28 ) and placebo ( n = 27 ) groups , treated , and re-examined 9 wk later . At follow-up , egg counts were significantly lower than at baseline in the albendazole-treated group ( P < or = 0.002 ) , and gains in activity , reported appetite and most indices of growth were significantly greater for the albendazole-treated group than for the placebo group . We conclude that treatment of undernourished school children for intestinal helminth infections with albendazole may improve growth and appetite and increase spontaneous physical activity One hundred fifty-nine children aged 24 to 61 months with 60 % ascariasis prevalence and 21.5 % giardiasis prevalence in rural Guatemala were studied prospect ively for 1 yr . They were divided into four groups comparable for age , sex , socioeconomic status , and past growth experience as judged by slopes of height and weight on age . Each group was r and omly assigned to the following 2-monthly treatment regimens : group I , placebo , group II , piperazine , group III , metronidazole ; group IV , piperazine and metronidazole . Height and weight were measured every 3 months and stools were examined for parasites every 4 months . Piperazine administration decreased the prevalence of ascariasis to 33.8 % at the end of the study but growth remained unaltered . Metronidazole administration decreased the prevalence of giardiasis to 2.5 % at the end of the study and was accompanied by increased growth as judged by delta weight , delta % weight for age , slope of weight on age , delta height , delta % height for age and slope of height on age . It is suggested that failure of antiascaris treatment to enhance growth in this study may be because of 1 ) absence of severe malnutrition in the subjects , 2 ) adequacy of dietary protein , 3 ) possible low worm load , and 4 ) failure to eradicate ascariasis . The findings suggest that giardiasis is associated with reduced growth in preschool children The effects of treating Trichuris trichiura infections were investigated in 407 Jamaican children age 6 to 12 y. The children were r and omly assigned to receive treatment ( albendazole ) or a placebo . The outcome variables included growth , tests of reading , spelling and arithmetic , and school attendance . After 6 mo of treatment , 
    Output:
    
There is some limited evidence that routine treatment of children in areas where helminths are common has effects on weight gain , but this is not consistent between trials .
There is insufficient evidence as to whether this intervention improves cognitive performance