SynthesisPaediatric and perinatal epidemiology2012
Effect of zinc supplementation on pregnancy and infant outcomes: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers, 7 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
56 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 127 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Efficacy of Zinc Supplementation Alone or in Combination for Improving Pregnancy and Infant Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of evidence-based medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Prenatal metal(loid) exposure and preterm birth: a systematic review of the epidemiologic evidence.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effect of micronutrient supplements on low-risk pregnancies in high-income countries: a systematic quantitative literature review.Public health nutrition · 2020Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Risk of childhood undernutrition related to small-for-gestational age and preterm birth in low- and middle-income countries.International journal of epidemiology · 2013Pooled it
- Zinc Supplementation Initiated Prior to or During Pregnancy Modestly Impacted Maternal Status and High Prevalence of Hypozincemia in Pregnancy and Lactation: The Women First Preconception Maternal Nutrition Trial.The Journal of nutrition · 2024Trial
- Effect of Zinc Status on Pubertal and Cognitive Functions in Male Offspring of Rats with Induced Zinc Deficiency During Gestation and Lactation.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Associations between prenatal metal exposure, gene variants, and birth size in Taiwan Birth Panel Study.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Could excessive zinc supplementation during pregnancy cause menkes disease? A hypothesis worth investigating.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Review
- Review
- Hidradenitis Suppurativa Treatment During Pregnancy and Lactation: Navigating Challenges.International journal of dermatology · 2025Review
- Biofortification and fortification of wheat flour: Qualitative analysis for implementation and acceptance.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Association of Protein, Zinc, and Vitamin A Maternal Intake With Preterm Birth, but Not With the Dietary Inflammatory Index.Journal of nutrition and metabolism · 2025Article
- Prenatal metal exposures and childhood gut microbial signatures are associated with depression score in late childhood.The Science of the total environment · 2024Article
- Role of mineral nutrients other than iron in pregnancy: under recognized opportunities to improve maternal/fetal outcomes: a literature review.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2024Review
- Fluorescent Sensor Based on 1Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Investigation of the Effects of Maternal Nutrition during Pregnancy on Cognitive Functions of Toddlers: A Systematic Review.International journal of preventive medicine · 2024Review
- Frequency of low birth weight and its relationship with maternal serum zinc: a cross-sectional study.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Poor maternal zinc status has been associated with foetal loss, congenital malformations, intra-uterine growth retardation, reduced birth weight, prolonged labour and preterm or post-term deliveries. A meta-analysis completed in 2007 showed that maternal zinc supplementation resulted in a small but significant reduction in preterm birth. The purposes of this analysis are to update that previous review and expand the scope of assessment to include maternal, infant and child health outcomes. Electronic searches were carried out to identify peer-reviewed, randomised controlled trials where daily zinc supplementation was given for at least one trimester of pregnancy. The co-authors applied the study selection criteria, assessed trial quality and abstracted data. A total of 20 independent intervention trials involving more than 11,000 births were identified. The 20 trials took place across five continents between 1977 and 2008. Most studies assessed the zinc effect against a background of other micronutrient supplements, but five were placebo-controlled trials of zinc alone. The provided dose of supplemental zinc ranged from 5 to 50 mg/day. Only the risk of preterm birth reached statistical significance (summary relative risk 0.86 [95% confidence interval 0.75, 0.99]). There was no evidence that supplemental zinc affected any parameter of foetal growth (risk of low birth weight, birth weight, length at birth or head circumference at birth). Six of the 20 trials were graded as high quality. The evidence that maternal zinc supplementation lowers the risk of preterm birth was graded low; evidence for a positive effect on other foetal outcomes was graded as very low. The effect of zinc supplementation on preterm birth, if causal, might reflect a reduction in maternal infection, a primary cause of prematurity. While further study would be needed to explore this possibility in detail, the overall public health benefit of zinc supplementation in pregnancy appears limited.
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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.