Moreover, upon subgroup analysis, when stratifying participants into adults (≥ 15 years old) and children (< 15 years old), a significant correlation between OPN and parasitemia levels was observed both within the group of adults (rho = 0.33, P = 0.01) (Fig. 2B) and in the children subgroup (rho = 0.34, P = 0.03) (Fig. 2C). This evidence concerns the gene SPP1 and parasitic infectious disease.