ReviewFood and nutrition bulletin2015
Environmental enteric dysfunction: an overview.
Review in Food and nutrition bulletin, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 148 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
148 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Safe Drinking Water and Its Impact on Children's Growth and Development: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Pooled it
- Water, sanitation and hygiene interventions and the prevention and treatment of childhood acute malnutrition: A systematic review.Maternal & child nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of single and combined water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions on nutritional status of children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2019Pooled it
- Environmental enteric dysfunction pathways and child stunting: A systematic review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Pooled it
- The Impact and Sustainability of Multisector Interventions to Improve Water Quality and Food Safety in Complex Environments: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Northern Uganda.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2025Trial
- Effects of lipid-based nutrient supplements on gut markers in stunted children: Secondary analysis of a randomised trial.Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition · 2025Trial
- Daily Complementary Feeding With Eggs Improves Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 in Infants.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Trial
- Probiotics and Synbiotics Administered to Young Infants: Perceptions and Acceptability Amongst Carers and Healthcare Workers in Western Kenya.Nutrients · 2025Trial
- Three-arm clinical trial of improved flour targeting intestinal microbiota (MALINEA).Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Lack of Associations between Environmental Exposures and Environmental Enteric Dysfunction among 18-Month-Old Children in Rural Malawi.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of Dietary Rice Bran Intake on Microbiota Diversity, Enteric Dysfunction, and Fecal Secretory IgA in Malian and Nicaraguan Infants.The Journal of nutrition · 2022Trial
- Serum cobalamin in children with moderate acute malnutrition in Burkina Faso: Secondary analysis of a randomized trial.PLoS medicine · 2022Trial
- A Chicken Production Intervention and Additional Nutrition Behavior Change Component Increased Child Growth in Ethiopia: A Cluster-Randomized Trial.The Journal of nutrition · 2020Trial
- Amino Acid Digestibility of Extruded Chickpea and Yellow Pea Protein is High and Comparable in Moderately Stunted South Indian Children with Use of a Dual Stable Isotope Tracer Method.The Journal of nutrition · 2020Trial
- Associations between enteric pathogen carriage and height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height in children under 5 years old in urban Dhaka, Bangladesh.Epidemiology and infection · 2020Trial
- Impact of Daily Preventive Zinc or Therapeutic Zinc Supplementation for Diarrhea on Plasma Biomarkers of Environmental Enteric Dysfunction among Rural Laotian Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2020Trial
- Zinc Absorption and Endogenous Fecal Zinc Losses in Bangladeshi Toddlers at Risk for Environmental Enteric Dysfunction.Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition · 2019Trial
- Zinc Absorption from Micronutrient Powders Is Low in Bangladeshi Toddlers at Risk of Environmental Enteric Dysfunction and May Increase Dietary Zinc Requirements.The Journal of nutrition · 2019Trial
- Trial
88 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEnvironmental enteric dysfunction (EED) refers to an incompletely defined syndrome of inflammation, reduced absorptive capacity, and reduced barrier function in the small intestine. It is widespread among children and adults in low- and middle-income countries. Understanding of EED and its possible consequences for health is currently limited.
objectiveA narrative review of the current understanding of EED: epidemiology, pathogenesis, therapies, and relevance to child health.
methodsSearches for key papers and ongoing trials were conducted using PUBMED 1966-June 2014; ClinicalTrials.gov; the WHO Clinical Trials Registry; the Cochrane Library; hand searches of the references of retrieved literature; discussions with experts; and personal experience from the field.
resultsEED is established during infancy and is associated with poor sanitation, certain gut infections, and micronutrient deficiencies. Helicobacter pylori infection, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), abnormal gut microbiota, undernutrition, and toxins may all play a role. EED is usually asymptomatic, but it is important due to its association with stunting. Diagnosis is frequently by the dual sugar absorption test, although other biomarkers are emerging. EED may partly explain the reduced efficacy of oral vaccines in low- and middle-income countries and the increased risk of serious infection seen in children with undernutrition.
conclusionsDespite its potentially significant impacts, it is currently unclear exactly what causes EED and how it can be treated or prevented. Ongoing trials involve nutritional supplements, water and sanitation interventions, and immunomodulators. Further research is needed to better understand this condition, which is of likely crucial importance for child health and development in low- and middle-income settings.
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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.