SynthesisNutrients2021
Probiotic Supplementation for Promotion of Growth in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Nutrients, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Gut-Bone Axis and Skeletal Health: Regulatory Mechanisms and Therapeutic Applications of Plant-Derived Bioactive Compounds.Biomolecules · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A Three-Arm, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety ofNutrients · 2023Trial
- Potential Benefit of Probiotic E. Coli Nissle in Term Neonates.Klinische Padiatrie · 2023Trial
- Effects of probiotic and synbiotic supplementation on ponderal and linear growth in severely malnourished young infants in a randomized clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- The gut microbiota in malnutrition.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Antimicrobial Peptides as Next-Generation Disinfectants: Tackling Biocide and Antimicrobial Resistance in Hospital Hygiene - A Narrative Review.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Review
- Neonatal faecal abundance ofGut microbiome (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- Genomic insights into the beneficial potential ofMicrobial genomics · 2025Article
- Evaluation of Faecal Microbiota Following Probiotics in Infants of Mothers with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Trial: Protocol for Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial.Microorganisms · 2025Article
- Gut Microbiome-Targeted Nutrition Interventions and Growth among Children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Current developments in nutrition · 2024Article
- Potential influence of antimicrobial resistance gene content in probiotic bacteria on the gut resistome ecosystems.Frontiers in nutrition · 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
11 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Probiotics are commonly prescribed to promote a healthy gut microbiome in children. Our objective was to investigate the effects of probiotic supplementation on growth outcomes in children 0-59 months of age. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis which included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that administered probiotics to children aged 0-59 months, with growth outcomes as a result. We completed a random-effects meta-analysis and calculated a pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) or relative risk (RR) and reported with a 95% confidence interval (CI). We included 79 RCTs, 54 from high-income countries (HIC), and 25 from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). LMIC data showed that probiotics may have a small effect on weight (SMD: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.11-0.42, grade-certainty = low) and height (SMD 0.16, 95% CI: 0.06-0.25, grade-certainty = moderate). HIC data did not show any clinically meaningful effect on weight (SMD: 0.01, 95% CI: -0.04-0.05, grade-certainty = moderate), or height (SMD: -0.01, 95% CI: -0.06-0.04, grade-certainty = moderate). There was no evidence that probiotics affected the risk of adverse events. We conclude that in otherwise healthy children aged 0-59 months, probiotics may have a small but heterogenous effect on weight and height in LMIC but not in children from HIC.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.