SynthesisThe Cochrane database of systematic reviews2010
Zinc supplementation for the prevention of pneumonia in children aged 2 months to 59 months.
Synthesis in The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- Zinc supplementation for the prevention of pneumonia in children aged 2 months to 59 months.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Zinc supplementation for improving pregnancy and infant outcome.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Preventive zinc supplementation for children, and the effect of additional iron: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2014Pooled it
- Zinc supplementation as an adjunct to antibiotics in the treatment of pneumonia in children 2 to 59 months of age.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2011Pooled it
- Effects of therapeutic zinc supplementation for diarrhea and two preventive zinc supplementation regimens on the incidence and duration of diarrhea and acute respiratory tract infections in rural Laotian children: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of global health · 2020Trial
- Zinc as an adjunct therapy in the management of severe pneumonia among Gambian children: randomized controlled trial.Journal of global health · 2018Trial
- Effect of zinc supplementation on infants with severe pneumonia.World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2016Trial
- The Role of Zinc Against Bacterial Infections in Neonates, Children, and Adults: A Scoping Review from the Available Evidence of Randomized Controlled Trials About Zinc Supplementation to New Research Opportunities.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Article
- A Review on Risk Factors, Traditional Diagnostic Techniques, and Biomarkers for Pneumonia Prognostication and Management in Diabetic Patients.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Consequences of Disturbing Manganese Homeostasis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Article
- Analysis of the Perinatal Care System in a Remote and Mountainous District of Nepal.Maternal and child health journal · 2022Article
- Identifying Programmatic Factors that Increase Likelihood of Health Facility Delivery: Results from a Community Health Worker Program in Zanzibar.Maternal and child health journal · 2022Article
- Zinc Intakes and Health Outcomes: An Umbrella Review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Review
- Dietary zinc and the control of Streptococcus pneumoniae infection.PLoS pathogens · 2019Article
- Association of nutritional support programs with zinc deficiency in Colombian children: a cross-sectional study.BMC nutrition · 2019Article
- Zinc Supplementation Promotes a Th1 Response and Improves Clinical Symptoms in Fewer Hours in Children With Pneumonia Younger Than 5 Years Old. A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2019Article
- Zinc Supplementation in Adult Mechanically Ventilated Trauma Patients is Associated with Decreased Occurrence of Ventilator-associated Pneumonia: A Secondary Analysis of a Prospective, Observational Study.Indian journal of critical care medicine : peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine · 2017Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children younger than five years of age. Most deaths occur during infancy and in low-income countries. Daily regimens of zinc have been reported to prevent acute lower respiratory tract infection and reduce child mortality.
objectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness of zinc supplementation in the prevention of pneumonia in children aged two to 59 months. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2010, Issue 2), which contains the Acute Respiratory Infections Group's Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1966 to January Week 2, 2010), EMBASE (1974 to January 2010) and LILACS (1985 to January 2010). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating supplementation of zinc for the prevention of pneumonia in children aged 2 to 59 months of age. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. MAIN
resultsWe included six trials and 7850 participants in the meta-analysis. Analysis showed that zinc supplementation reduced the incidence of pneumonia by 13% (risk ratio (RR) 0.87; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81 to 0.94, fixed-effect, six studies) and prevalence of pneumonia by 41% (RR 0.59; 95% CI 0.35 to 0.99, random-effects, one study). On subgroup analysis, we found that zinc reduced the incidence of pneumonia defined by specific clinical criteria by 21% (i.e. confirmation by chest examination or chest radiograph) (RR 0.79; 95% CI 0.0.71 to 0.88, fixed-effect, four studies, n = 4591) but had no effect on lower specificity pneumonia case definition (i.e. age specific fast breathing with or without lower chest indrawing) (RR 0.95; 95% CI 0.86 to 1.06, fixed-effect, four studies, n = 3259). AUTHORS'
conclusionsZinc supplementation in children is associated with a reduction in the incidence and prevalence of pneumonia, the leading cause of death in children.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.