Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37246212›Full record

SynthesisBMC pediatrics2023

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association of dietary diversity with undernutrition in school-aged children.

Mobina Zeinalabedini, Behzad Zamani, Ensieh Nasli-Esfahani, Leila Azadbakht

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC pediatrics, 2023. 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.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. The Role of Food Consumption in the Global Syndemic: A Scoping Review and Conceptual Model.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Mobina ZeinalabediniDepartment of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, PO Box 1416643931, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0002-8245-940X
Behzad ZamaniDepartment of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, PO Box 1416643931, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0003-1123-1261
Ensieh Nasli-EsfahaniDiabetes Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0001-6334-5469
Leila AzadbakhtDepartment of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, PO Box 1416643931, Tehran, Iran. azadbakhtleila@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-5955-6818
Tehran University of Medical Sciences · IRIsfahan University of Medical Sciences · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMalnutrition in childhood has lasting consequences; its effects not only last a lifetime but are also passed down from generation to generation such as short stature, school-aged children are the most vulnerable section of the population and require special attention, including nutrition.

methodWe searched Medline through PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to identify all observational studies published before Jun 2022. Observational studies with a pediatric population aged 5-18 years that evaluated risk estimate with 95% confidence intervals the relationship between dietary diversity and undernutrition (wasting, stunting, and thinness) were included. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) were followed.

resultsThis is a first systematic review and meta-analysis with a total of 20 studies were eligible (n = 18 388). Fourteen data evaluated stunting resulting in a pooled effect size estimated odds ratio of 1.43 (95% CI: 1.08-1.89; p = 0.013). Ten data evaluated Thinness resulting in a pooled effect size estimated odds ratio of 1.10 (95% CI: 0.81-1.49; P = 0.542). Two studies were revealed wasting with a odds ratio of 2.18 (95% CI: 1.41-3.36; p-value < 0.001).

conclusionAccording to the conclusions of this meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies, inadequate dietary diversity increases the risk of undernutrition in growth linear but not in thinness in school-aged children. The findings of this analysis suggest that initiatives that support improvements to the diversity of children's diets to reduce the risk of undernutrition may be warranted in LMICs.

Indexed as

MalnutritionWasting SyndromeChildCross-Sectional StudiesDietGrowth DisordersHumansPrevalenceThinnessDietary diversity score (DDS)School-aged childrenStuntingThinnessUndernutrition

Identifiers

PMID37246212
PMCPMC10226245
OpenAlexW4378602834

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.