SynthesisBMC pediatrics2015
Age of introduction of first complementary feeding for infants: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC pediatrics, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 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
40 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A Systematic Review of the Relation between Complementary Feeding and Children's Development.Current nutrition reports · 2025Pooled it
- Timing of Complementary Feeding, Growth, and Risk of Non-Communicable Diseases: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- The Impact of Nutrition-Specific and Nutrition-Sensitive Interventions on Hemoglobin Concentrations and Anemia: A Meta-review of Systematic Reviews.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2020Pooled it
- Nutritional interventions or exposures in infants and children aged up to 3 years and their effects on subsequent risk of overweight, obesity and body fat: a systematic review of systematic reviews.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2016Pooled it
- Trial
- Association between full breastfeeding, timing of complementary food introduction, and iron status in infancy in Germany: results of a secondary analysis of a randomized trial.European journal of nutrition · 2018Trial
- Feeding practices during childhood illness and associated factors among mothers of children under 24 month olds in southwest Ethiopia: A Facility-based cross-sectional study design.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Exclusive breastfeeding and its associated factors among children aged 0-5 months in Sierra Leone: a multilevel analysis.International breastfeeding journal · 2025Article
- The effectiveness of a theory‑based health education program on self-efficacy and breastfeeding behaviors continuity of working mothers in Iran.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Effect of Nutrition in the First Two Years of Life on Body Composition of Preschool-Aged Children.Cureus · 2024Article
- The epidemiology and associated factors of non-exclusive breastfeeding: a comparative cross-sectional study of livelihood-secure and insecure areas.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Prevalence and risk factors of anemia in the mother-child population from a region of the Colombian Caribbean.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Occurrence of mycotoxins and microbial communities in artisanal infant flours marketed in Côte d'Ivoire.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2023Article
- The Effect of Educational Intervention Based on Theory of Planned Behavior Approach on Complementary Feeding: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of pediatrics · 2023Article
- Article
- Timing and pattern of growth faltering in children up-to 18 months of age and the associated feeding practices in an urban setting of Sri Lanka.BMC pediatrics · 2022Article
- Growth performance, biochemical and haematological parameters of BALB/c mice fed on staple grains and bee larvae (Heliyon · 2022Article
- Evidence to Underpin Vitamin A Requirements and Upper Limits in Children Aged 0 to 48 Months: A Scoping Review.Nutrients · 2022Article
- Mothers' feeding practices among infants (4-12 months) and associated factors: a cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia.Journal of nutritional science · 2022Article
- Association of Infant Feeding Practices with Iron Status and Hematologic Parameters in 6-Month-Old Infants.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
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
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite a World Health Organization recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding of all full-term infants to 6 months of age, it is not clear what the health implications may be. Breast milk alone may not meet the nutrition needs for all growing infants, leaving them at risk for deficiencies. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between moderate (4 months) versus late (6 months) introduction of complementary foods to the full-term breastfed infant on iron status and growth.
methodsAn electronic search of peer-reviewed and gray-literature was conducted for randomized control trials (RCTs) and observational studies related to the timing of introduction of complementary foods. Iron status and growth data from the relevant RCTs were analyzed using RevMan 5.2.11.
resultsThree RCTs and one observational study met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed significantly higher hemoglobin levels in infants fed solids at 4 months versus those fed solids at 6 months in developing countries [mean difference [MD]: 5.0 g/L; 95% CI: 1.5, 8.5 g/L; P = 0.005]. Meta-analysis also showed higher serum ferritin levels in the 4-month group in both developed and developing countries [MD: 26.0 μg/L; 95% CI: -0.1, 52.1 μg/L, P = 0.050], [MD: 18.9 μg/L; 95% CI: 0.7, 37.1 μg/L, P = 0.040]. Short follow-up periods and small sample sizes of the included studies were the major limitations.
conclusionsRCT evidence suggests the rate of iron deficiency anemia in breastfed infants could be positively altered by introduction of solids at 4 months.
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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.