Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38134960›Full record

SynthesisNutrition reviews2024

Effect of fatty acid profiles in varying recipes of ready-to-use therapeutic foods on neurodevelopmental and clinical outcomes of children (6-59 months) with severe wasting: a systematic review.

Arista Nienaber, Cornelia Conradie, Geoffrey Manda, Bernadette Chimera-Khombe, Ettienne Nel, Edith B Milanzi, Robin C Dolman-Macleod, Martani J Lombard

Open access · hybridAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Nutrition reviews, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 48% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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

8 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.

Arista NienaberCentre of Excellence for Nutrition (CEN), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Cornelia ConradieCentre of Excellence for Nutrition (CEN), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Geoffrey MandaGlobal Health Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Bernadette Chimera-KhombeInterdisciplinaire Sciences Santé, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France.
Ettienne NelDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, University Stellenbosch, Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa.
Edith B MilanziMedical Research Council Clinical Trials, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Robin C Dolman-MacleodCentre of Excellence for Nutrition (CEN), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Martani J LombardCentre of Excellence for Nutrition (CEN), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Potchefstroom, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-2457-6456
North-West University · ZAMRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL · GBStellenbosch University · ZAUniversité Claude Bernard Lyon 1 · FRUniversity of Antwerp · BE

Funding

World Health Organization
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextIn 2020, 13.6 million children under 5 years suffered from severe acute malnutrition (SAM)/wasting. Standard ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) improve polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) status but contain suboptimal amounts of omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs with unbalanced n-6-to-n-3 PUFA ratios.

objectivesThe aim was to compare the effects of RUTFs with different essential fatty acid contents on PUFA status, neurodevelopmental, and clinical outcomes (mortality, comorbidities, and recovery) of children with severe wasting. DATA SOURCES: Twelve databases, trial repositories, and article references with no publication limitations. DATA EXTRACTION: Ten studies from randomized, quasi, and cluster-randomized controlled trials providing RUTFs as home treatment to children 6-59 months with SAM/wasting were included. DATA ANALYSIS: Plasma phospholipid eicosapentaenoic acid content was higher in children receiving RUTF with altered essential fatty acid contents compared with standard RUTF (0.20 [0.15-0.25], P < 0.00001). Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) status only improved in children receiving RUTF with added fish oil (0.33 [0.15-0.50], P = 0.0003). The Malawi Developmental Assessment tool (MDAT) global development and problem-solving assessment scores were higher in global assessment and gross motor domains in children receiving added fish oil compared with standard formulation (0.19 [0.0-0.38] and 0.29 [0.03-0.55], respectively). Children receiving high-oleic-acid RUTF (lowering the n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio of the RUTF) with or without fish oil had significantly higher scores in social domains compared with those receiving the standard formulation (0.16 [0.00-0.31] and 0.24 [0.09-0.40]). Significantly higher mortality risk was found in children receiving a standard formulation compared with RUTF with a lower n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio (0.79 [0.67-0.94], P = 0.008).

conclusionAlthough lowering n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios did not increase plasma DHA, it improved specific neurodevelopmental scores and mortality due to lower linoleic acid (high-oleic-acid peanuts), higher alpha-linolenic acid (altered oil), or both. Additional preformed n-3 long-chain PUFAs (fish oil) with RUTF improved the children's DHA status, neurodevelopmental outcomes, and weight-for-height z score. More research is needed regarding cost, availability, stability, acceptability, and the appropriate amount of n-3 long-chain PUFAs required in RUTFs for the best clinical outcomes. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42022303694.

Indexed as

Wasting SyndromeChild DevelopmentChild, PreschoolFast FoodsFatty Acids, EssentialFatty Acids, Omega-3Fatty Acids, UnsaturatedHumansInfantRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSevere Acute MalnutritionTreatment OutcomeFatty Acids, EssentialFatty Acids, Omega-3Fatty Acids, Unsaturateddocosahexaenoic acidfatty acidsmalnutritionneurodevelopmentready-to-use therapeutic foodssevere acutewasting

Identifiers

PMID38134960
PMCPMC11551450
OpenAlexW4390152445

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.