Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26355426›Full record

SynthesisPublic health nutrition2016

How consistent are associations between stunting and child development? Evidence from a meta-analysis of associations between stunting and multidimensional child development in fifteen low- and middle-income countries.

Ann C Miller, Megan B Murray, Dana R Thomson, Mary Catherine Arbour

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Public health nutrition, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
47citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

47 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines 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

4 authors.

Ann C Miller1Department of Global Health and Social Medicine,Harvard Medical School,641 Huntington Avenue,Boston,MA 02115,USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6841-9439
Megan B Murray1Department of Global Health and Social Medicine,Harvard Medical School,641 Huntington Avenue,Boston,MA 02115,USA.
Dana R Thomson1Department of Global Health and Social Medicine,Harvard Medical School,641 Huntington Avenue,Boston,MA 02115,USA.
Mary Catherine Arbour3Division of Global Health Equity,Brigham and Women's Hospital,Boston,MA,USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveDespite documented associations between stunting and cognitive development, few population-level studies have measured both indicators in individual children or assessed stunting's associations with other developmental domains.

designMeta-analysis using publicly available data from fifteen Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS-4) to assess the association between stunting and development, controlling for maternal education, family wealth, books in the home, developmentally supportive parenting and sex of the child, stratified by country prevalence of breast-feeding ('low BF'<90 %, 'high BF' ≥90 %). Ten-item Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) scores assessed physical, learning, literacy/numeracy and socio-emotional developmental domains. Children on track in three or four domains were considered 'on-track' overall.

settingFifteen low- and middle-income countries. SUBJECTS: Publically available data from 58 513 children aged 36-59 months.

resultsSevere stunting (height-for-age Z-score <-3) was negatively associated with on-track development (OR=0·75; 95 % CI 0·67, 0·83). Any stunting (Z-score <-2) was negatively associated with on-track development in countries with high BF prevalence (OR=0·82; 95 % CI 0·75, 0·89). Severe and any stunting were negatively associated with physical development (OR=0·77; 95 % CI 0·66, 0·89 and OR=0·82; 95 % CI 0·74, 0·91, respectively) and literacy/numeracy development in high BF countries (OR=0·45; 95 % CI 0·38, 0·53 and OR=0·59, 95 % CI 0·51, 0·68, respectively), but not low BF countries (OR=0·93; 95 % CI 0·70, 1·23 and OR=0·95, 95 % CI 0·79, 1·12, respectively). Any stunting was negatively associated with learning (OR=0·79; 95 % CI 0·72, 0·88). There was no clear association between stunting and socio-emotional development.

conclusionsStunting is associated with many but not all developmental domains across a diversity of countries and cultures. However, associations varied by country breast-feeding prevalence and developmental domain.

Indexed as

Child DevelopmentChild, PreschoolCognitionDeveloping CountriesGrowth DisordersHumansIncomePovertySocioeconomic FactorsChild developmentDevelopmental delayGlobal healthMalnutritionMeta-analysisMultiple indicator cluster studyStunting

Identifiers

PMID26355426
PMCPMC10270805

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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.