A systematic review of effect of prenatal zinc supplementation on irthweight: meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials

The effect of prenatal zinc supplementation on birth weight is controversial as randomised controlled trials (RCTs) report conflicting conclusions. A systematic review which includes meta-analysis was done on 17 RCTs conducted worldwide since 1984 to assess the effect of prenatal zinc supplementation on birth weight. The studies were identified through web-based search. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using Cochrane Q test statistic. Effect-size was measured based on standardised mean difference. Pooled effect-size was computed using a variant of random effect model. Thirteen of the 17 RCTs find no association, three report positive association, and one reports negative association. Based on fixed and random effect models, the pooled effect-sizes are 0.0268 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.0764, -0.0229) and 0.0712 (95% CI 0.1619, -0.0194) respectively. The effect-size estimate remains insignificant after stratification was made based on the dose of supplementation (optimal vs high dose), type of study (community vs institution-based), and type of source country (developed vs developing). The meta-analysis does not witness any association between birth weight and prenatal zinc supplementation.

[Adapted from author]

How good is this research?
Assessing the quality of research can be a tricky business. This blog from our editor offers some tools and tips.
Read now

Related content

Document
Building a sustainable food city: A collective approach
E. O'Brien, N. Nisbett / Institute of Development Studies UK, 2019
Brighton – a city on the south coast of the UK with a vibrant food scene but also home to some entrenched inequalities – presents an excellent local case from which to explore some of the wider issues considered in this IDS Bulletin on the political economy of food.
Document
How do the state’s organisational capacities at the micro- and macro-levels influence agriculture-nutrition linkages in fragile contexts?
J. Gupte, R. Longhurst / Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia, 2019
This paper systematically reviews the evidence on what capacities the state requires to leverage agriculture for nutrition in fragile contexts, maintaining a focus on state in South Asia (especially India).
Document
Principles of innovation to build nutrition-sensitive food systems in South Asia
D. Glover, N. Poole / Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia, 2019
Innovations within global food systems have contributed to the predicament known as the triple burden of malnutrition – the co-existence of hunger and micronutrient deficiency with the diseases of overnutrition, such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension.
Document
Women’s agricultural work and nutrition in South Asia: From pathways to a cross-disciplinary, grounded analytical framework
N. Rao, H. Gazdar, D. Chanchani, M. Ibrahim / Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia, 2019
In this systematic review, the authors aim to examine the impact of women’s work in agriculture on maternal and child nutrition in South Asia. Building on previous reviews supported under the Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) consortium, and recent published literature, we include findings from new LANSA research.
Document
Interventions in agriculture for nutrition outcomes: A systematic review focused on South Asia
F.A. Bird / Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia, 2019
Research on the potential impact of interventions in agriculture on nutrition outcomes is of particular relevance in South Asia where agriculture-related activities are a major source of livelihoods for large sections of society and where the population suffers from one of the highest global burdens of malnutrition in all its forms.

Eldis

A systematic review of effect of prenatal zinc supplementation on irthweight: meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials