SynthesisBMC pregnancy and childbirth2021
Magnitude and determinants of neural tube defect in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 7 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.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Folate and global health umbrella review series, part 1: methodological framework and syntheses on anaemia and neural tube defects.Journal of global health · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence of neural tube defects and their associated factors in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2025Pooled 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
- Prevalence and associated factors of congenital anomalies in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Birth prevalence and risk factors of neural tube defects in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2023Pooled it
- Environmental exposures and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Morphological Variants and Factors Associated With Neural Tube Defects at a Regional Referral Hospital.Health science reports · 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
- The burden of neural tube defects in Southern Ethiopia: trends, hotspots, and public health implications.PeerJ · 2026Article
- Incidence of neural tube defects in tertiary care university hospital in Bangladesh.Clinical and experimental pediatrics · 2025Article
- Presentation and management of neural tube defects in the middle belt of Ghana.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2025Article
- Prevalence of Babies Born With Neural Tube Defects and Geospatial Mapping of Therapeutic Services: A Systematic Review.Health science reports · 2025Review
- Neural tube defect among newborns in public hospitals of Tigray region, northern Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Maternal Smoking during Pregnancy and its effects on Neural Tube Defects.Iranian journal of child neurology · 2024Article
- Surgically Correctable Congenital Anomalies: Reducing Morbidity and Mortality in the First 8000 Days of Life.World journal of surgery · 2023Review
- Global, regional, and national epidemiological trends in neural tube defects between 1990 and 2019: a summary.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2023Review
- Prevalence of neural tube defects among pregnant women in Addis Ababa: a community-based study using prenatal ultrasound examination.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2023Article
- Failure to fortify staple foods with folic acid-still public health malpractice.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2023Review
- 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
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNeural tube defects (NTDs) are a group of disorders that arise from the failure of the neural tube close between 21 and 28 days after conception. About 90% of neural tube defects and 95% of death due to these defects occurs in low-income countries. Since these NTDs cause considerable morbidity and mortality, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of NTDs in Africa.
methodsThe protocol of this study was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO number: CRD42020149356). All major databases such as PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, African Journals Online (AJOL), and Google Scholar search engine were systematically searched. A random-effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of NTDs in Africa, and Cochran's Q-statistics and I
resultsOf the total 2679 articles, 37 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of NTDs in Africa was 50.71 per 10,000 births (95% CI: 48.03, 53.44). Folic acid supplementation (AOR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.19-0.85), maternal exposure to pesticide (AOR: 3.29; 95% CI: 1.04-10.39), mothers with a previous history of stillbirth (AOR: 3.35, 95% CI: 1.99-5.65) and maternal exposure to x-ray radiation (AOR 2.34; 95% CI: 1.27-4.31) were found to be determinants of NTDs.
conclusionsThe pooled prevalence of NTDs in Africa was found to be high. Maternal exposure to pesticides and x-ray radiation were significantly associated with NTDs. Folic acid supplementation before and within the first month of pregnancy was found to be a protective factor for NTDs.
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