Trial reportThe Journal of nutrition2021
Body Composition Changes in Children during Treatment for Moderate Acute Malnutrition: Findings from a 4-Arm Cluster-Randomized Trial in Sierra Leone.
Trial report in The Journal of nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03146897 (Comparison of Four Different Supplementary Foods in the Treatment of Moderate Acute Malnutrition), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Comparison of Four Different Supplementary Foods in the Treatment of Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) in Children: Sierra Leone Cost-Effectiveness Study
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Assessing the nutritional status and micronutrient gaps in Sierra Leone: a systematic rapid review of women, children, and adolescents.BMC nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy of long-term oral nutritional supplementation with dietary counseling on growth, body composition and bone mineralization in children with or at risk for undernutrition: a randomized controlled trial.Nutrition journal · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Paving the way for improved action: how nuclear techniques can advance the assessment of malnutrition.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMeasures that better describe "healthy" and sustainable recovery during nutritional treatment of children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) are needed.
objectivesWe compared changes to body composition among children receiving 1 of 4 specialized nutritious food (SNFs) during treatment of MAM and by recovery and relapse outcomes.
methodsThe study was nested within a prospective, cluster-randomized, community-based, cost-effectiveness trial assessing 4 SNFs to treat children aged 6-59 mo with MAM [midupper arm circumference (MUAC) ≥11.5 cm and <12.5 cm without bipedal edema] in Sierra Leone. Biweekly SNF rations (1 of 3 fortified-blended foods or a lipid-based nutrient supplement) were given until children recovered (MUAC ≥12.5 cm), or up to 7 rations (∼12 wk). Deuterium dilution was used to estimate fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) at enrollment and after 4 wk of treatment to ensure similar treatment exposure among the participants. Another MUAC measurement was performed among recovered children 4 wk after program exit to determine whether recovery was sustained. ANOVA, paired t tests, and linear regression models were used to determine significant differences in changes from baseline to 4 wk.
resultsAmong 312 analyzed participants, mean baseline weight comprised ∼80% FFM; mean weight gained after 4 wk comprised ∼82% FFM. Changes in FM and FFM among 4 SNFs were similar. Children who recovered gained more weight (241%), FFM (179%), and weight-for-height z score (0.44 compared with 0) compared with those who did not recover; sustainers gained 150% more weight. FM gains were positive among recovered children and sustainers, as well as negative among those who did not recover or sustain recovery, but not significantly different.
conclusionsFour SNFs had similar effects on body composition in children after 4 wk of treatment for MAM, showing a healthy pattern of weight gain, the majority being FFM. Differential responses to treatment underscore a need for further research to provide targets for healthy, sustainable recovery. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03146897.
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