Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32709645›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2020

Infant formula composition and educational performance: a protocol to extend follow-up for a set of randomised controlled trials using linked administrative education records.

Maximiliane Verfürden, Katie Harron, John Jerrim, Mary Fewtrell, Ruth Gilbert

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 22% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
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

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Maximiliane VerfürdenGreat Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK m.verfuerden@ucl.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0003-2204-8251
Katie HarronGreat Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-3418-2856
John JerrimInstitute of Education, University College London, London, UK.
Mary FewtrellGreat Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Ruth GilbertGreat Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Great Ormond Street Hospital · GBUniversity College London · GB

Funding

Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 103975/Z/14/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe effect of infant nutrition on long-term cognition is important for parents and policy makers. However, most clinical trials typically have short follow-up periods, when measures of cognition are poorly predictive of later function. The few trials with longer-term follow-up have high levels of attrition, which can lead to selection bias, and in turn to erroneous interpretation of long-term harms and benefits of infant nutrition. We address the need for unbiased, long-term follow-up, by linking measures of educational performance from administrative education records. Educational performance is a meaningful marker of cognitive function in children and it is strongly correlated with IQ. We aim to evaluate educational performance for children who, as infants, were part of a series of trials that randomised participants to either nutritionally modified infant formula or standard formula. Most trialists anticipated positive effects of these interventions on later cognitive function. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Using data from 1923 participants of seven randomised infant formula trials linked to the English National Pupil Database (NPD), this study will provide new insights into the effect of nutrient intake in infancy on school achievement. Our primary outcome will be the mean differences in z-scores between intervention and control groups for a compulsory Mathematics exam sat at age 16. Secondary outcomes will be z-scores for a compulsory English exam at age 16 and z-scores for compulsory Mathematics and English exams at age 11. We will also evaluate intervention effects on the likelihood of receiving special educational needs (SEN) support. All analyses will be performed separately by trial. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Research ethics approval, and approval from the Health Research Authority Confidentiality Advisory Group, has been obtained for this study. The results of this study will be disseminated to scientific, practitioner, and lay audiences, submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals, and will contribute towards a PhD dissertation.

Indexed as

EatingInfant FormulaAdolescentChildEducational StatusFollow-Up StudiesHumansInfantMathematicsRandomized Controlled Trials as Topicclinical trialsnutrition & dieteticspaediatric neurologypublic health

Identifiers

PMID32709645
PMCPMC7380883
OpenAlexW3045342277

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.