Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25128210›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2014

Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of preventive zinc supplementation.

Günther Fink, Jesse Heitner

Open access · goldAbstract readEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 28% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Günther Fink
Jesse HeitnerDepartment of Global Health and Population, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, 02115 Boston, MA, USA. jah495@mail.harvard.edu.
Harvard Global Health Institute · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEven though the WHO currently recommends zinc for diarrhea management, no consensus has been reached with respect to routine distribution of zinc for preventive reasons. We reviewed the health impact of preventive zinc interventions, and evaluated the relative cost effectiveness of currently feasible interventions.

methodsUsing the latest relative risk estimates reported in the literature, we parameterized a health impact model, and calculated the expected benefits of zinc supplementation in a representative low-income country. We then computed the cost and cost-effectiveness for three delivery mechanisms: the direct distribution of zinc supplements, the distribution of micronutrient biscuits including zinc, and the distribution of zinc through water filtration systems.

resultsCombining all health outcomes and impact estimates, we find that systematic zinc supplementation among children of ages one to five would avert 1.423 DALYs per 100 households and year in least developed countries. The estimated cost per DALY is US$ 606 for pill supplementation, US$ 1211 for micronutrient biscuits, and US$ 879 per DALY saved for water filtration systems.

conclusionsPreventive zinc supplementation to children of ages 1-5 appears to be a highly cost-effective intervention in typical developing country settings. More research will be needed to determine the most effective mechanism to deliver zinc to this target population.

Indexed as

ChildChild, PreschoolCost-Benefit AnalysisDeveloping CountriesDiarrheaDietary SupplementsFemaleGlobal HealthHumansInfantMaleMicronutrientsModels, EconomicRisk Reduction BehaviorZincMicronutrientsZinc

Identifiers

PMID25128210
PMCPMC4143582
OpenAlexW2148011865

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.