Further support for the hypothesis that HbS, but not HbC,
reduces the cumulative parasite load in the first years of life
comes from our observation that only HbS protects from anemia
and stunting. The observed tendency toward a delay of the first
episode of malaria in children with HbAS is in accordance with
a recent study from Mali.46 The additional observation of a
significant delay of the first anemia episode implies that studies
addressing anemia should include the genotyping of hemoglobin
variants. A time delay effect on stunting is conceivable but was
not seen when measuring body length every 3 months (data
not shown).