SynthesisNutrients2022
The Association of Formula Protein Content and Growth in Early Infancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Nutrients, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review to Reassess the Formula for Early Life Growth.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Pooled it
- Anthropometry and Body Composition in Childhood: Follow-Up of a Randomised, Double-Blinded Controlled Trial With a Modified, Low-Protein Infant Formula During Infancy.Pediatric obesity · 2025Trial
- Conditional and Unconditional Social Transfers, Early-Life Nutrition, and Child Growth: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA pediatrics · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Effects of a Novel Infant Formula on Weight Gain, Body Composition, Safety and Tolerability to Infants: The INNOVA 2020 Study.Nutrients · 2022Trial
- Exclusive Breastfeeding and Growth Trajectories Until 5 Years of Age Among Children Monitored in Primary Health Care in Brazil.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2026Article
- Longer Breastfeeding Is Associated With Healthier Body Mass Index Trajectories and Lower Risk of Overweight and Obesity in Youth Aged 9-12 Years.Pediatric obesity · 2026Article
- Infant Feeding and Growth Patterns in Japanese Children: A Nationwide Secondary Analysis.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Comparative Analysis of Breastfeeding and Infant Formulas: Short- and Long-Term Impacts on Infant Nutrition and Health.Food science & nutrition · 2025Review
- The effects of formula milk on development, nutrient absorption, and immune characteristics of piglets.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Effect of Infant Formula Made With Milk Free of A1-Type β-Casein on Growth and Comfort: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Food science & nutrition · 2025Article
- Added Sugar Intake from Infant Formula and Complementary Foods: A Longitudinal Investigation and Implications for Infant Weight Gain.The Journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Longitudinal Changes in Human Milk Minerals and Vitamins in the Chinese Population: A Scoping Review.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Article
- Nutrition and Metabolism in the First 1000 Days of Life.Nutrients · 2023Article
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 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
This systematic review aimed to examine differences in growth outcomes between breastfed infants and infants fed with formula with different protein/energy ratios during the first six months of life. We conducted a systematic review in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Springer databases. Twenty clinical trials qualified for inclusion. We extracted data about the growth outcomes of infants who were exclusive breastfed or exclusively infant formula fed in the first six months and used a meta-analysis to pool the finding data. We categorized study formulas into four groups according to their protein content: <1.8, 1.8−2.0, 2.1−2.2, and >2.2 g/100 kcal. In the first month of life, growth was not different between formula- and breastfed infants. During 2−3 months of life, growth was faster in infants who consumed formulas with protein contents higher than 2.0 g/100 kcal. After 3 months, formula-fed infants grew faster than breastfed infants. Our meta-analysis indicated that the growth outcomes of infants fed with infant formula with a relatively low protein/energy ratios, compared with that a relatively high protein/energy ratio, were close to those of breastfed infants.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.