SynthesisBMC pediatrics2021
Birth prevalence of neural tube defects and associated risk factors in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC pediatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05935631 (Feasibility, Acceptability and Directional Signal Effect on Blood Folate Levels of Iodized Salt Fortified With Folic Acid), which is not on this map. Cited by 21 papers, 4 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.
Feasibility, Acceptability and Directional Signal Effect on Blood Folate Levels of Iodized Salt Fortified With Folic Acid: Clinical Study
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Folic acid supplementation during preconception period in sub-Saharan African countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Birth prevalence and determinants of neural tube defects among newborns in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Mapping the burden prevalence of neural tube defects across Indian regions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Pan African medical journal · 2025Pooled it
- Birth prevalence and risk factors of neural tube defects in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2023Pooled it
- Morphological Variants and Factors Associated With Neural Tube Defects at a Regional Referral Hospital.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Neonatal Spina Bifida: Clinical Profile, Management, and Maternal Characteristics in a Moroccan Tertiary Center.Cureus · 2026Article
- Neural tube defects burden from 1992 to 2021: a global, regional, and national age-period-cohort analysis of disability-adjusted life years.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Burden of neural tube defects in the Middle East and North Africa from 1990 to 2021: Findings from the global burden of disease study.Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences · 2025Article
- Long-term outcomes of children born with neural-tube defects in Botswana.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- A global survey of neurosurgeons' awareness of neural tube defect prevalence, prevention strategies, and their clinical time allocation to spina bifida care.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2025Article
- Cohort profile: measuring adverse pregnancy and newborn congenital outcomes (MANGO) study in Kenya.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Neural tube defect among newborns in public hospitals of Tigray region, northern Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Article
- Improvement of serum folate status in the US women of reproductive age with fortified iodised salt with folic acid (FISFA study).Public health nutrition · 2024Article
- The safety of a dolutegravir (DTG)-based antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimen for pregnancy and birth outcomes in Ethiopia: evidence from multicenter cohort study.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Fetal in-utero management of myelomeningocele: a mini-review on history, challenges, management gap, and recommendations.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2024Article
- Advances in DNA methylation of imprinted genes and folic acid regulation of growth and development.Epigenomics · 2024Review
- Neural tube defects: a review of global prevalence, causes, and primary prevention.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2023Review
- Burden of Neural Tube Defects and Their Associated Factors in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of pediatrics · 2023Review
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
backgroundNeural tube defects are common congenital anomalies that result from early malformation in the development of the spinal cord and brain. It is related to substantial mortality, morbidity, disability, and psychological and economic costs. The aim of this review is to determine the pooled birth prevalence of neural tube defects and associated risk factors in Africa.
methodsThe first outcome of this review was the pooled birth prevalence of the neural tube defects and the second outcome was the pooled measure of association between neural tube defects and associated risk factors in Africa. We systematically searched PubMed, PubMed Central, Joanna Briggs Institute, Google Scopus, Cochrane Library, African Journals Online, Web of Science, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and Medline databases. The heterogeneity of studies was assessed using the Cochrane Q test statistic, I
resultsForty-three studies with a total of 6086,384 participants were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled birth prevalence of the neural tube defects was 21.42 (95% CI (Confidence Interval): 19.29, 23.56) per 10,000 births. A high pooled birth prevalence of neural tube defects was detected in Algeria 75 (95% CI: 64.98, 85.02), Ethiopia 61.43 (95% CI: 46.70, 76.16), Eritrea 39 (95% CI: 32.88, 45.12), and Nigeria 32.77 (95% CI: 21.94, 43.59) per 10,000 births. The prevalence of neural tube defects has increased over time. Taking folic acid during early pregnancy, consanguineous marriage, male sex, and substance abuse during pregnancy were assessed and none of them was significant.
conclusionsThe pooled birth prevalence of neural tube defects in Africa was found to be high. The risk factors evaluated were not found significant.
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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.