ReviewInteractive journal of medical research2024
Assessing the Evidence for Nonobstetric Risk Factors for Deformational Plagiocephaly: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Interactive journal of medical research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Guidance strategies for infantile asymmetry prevention: a systematic review.BMC pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Cranial normality indices in Ugandan infants based on smartphone photogrammetry: key parameters for the study of cranial deformation.Head & face medicine · 2026Article
- Cross-Sectional study on cranial shape measurement values of 2,165 preterm infants in Beijing.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Decreased skull growth in positional plagiocephaly patients undergoing helmet therapy.Brain & spine · 2026Article
- Natural Progression of Cranial Shape Following Helmet Therapy for Deformational Plagiocephaly.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPlagiocephaly is defined as an asymmetrical distortion of the skull, resulting in an oblique trapezoid or parallelogram head shape. Deformational plagiocephaly (DP) is caused by forces acting on one side of the back of the head, distorting normal skull symmetry.
objectiveThe aims of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to critically assess the evidence for nonobstetric risk factors for DP and to make evidence-based recommendations for reducing the prevalence of DP.
methodsThe selection criterion was studies reporting risk factors for DP. Case reviews, case series, expert opinions, and systematic reviews were excluded. PubMed and Web of Science were searched from August 21, 2010, to August 21, 2022. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots. Meta-analyses were presented using forest plots.
resultsA total of 19 studies (cohort studies: n=13, 68%; case-control studies: n=5, 26%; and cross-sectional studies: n=1, 5%) with a total of 14,808 participants were included. Of the 43 investigated potential nonobstetric factors, 16 (37%) were associated with DP. Of these 16 factors, 12 (75%) had odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs not crossing 1: insufficient vitamin D intake (OR 7.15, 95% CI 3.77-13.54), head position preference (OR 4.75, 95% CI 3.36-6.73), bottle-only feeding (OR 4.65, 95% CI 2.70-8.00), reduced tummy time (OR 3.51, 95% CI 1.71-7.21), sleeping position (OR 3.12, 95% CI 2.21-4.39), fewer motor milestones reached by the age of 6 months (OR 2.56, 95% CI 1.66-3.96), obesity (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.02-5.90), maternal education level (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.17-2.37), male sex (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.07-2.12), formula feeding (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.00-2.27), head circumference (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.06-1.40), and mechanical ventilation (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.00-1.14). No evidence of publication bias was detected.
conclusionsThis study provides a comprehensive assessment of the nonobstetric factors associated with DP and presents 11 evidence-based recommendations for reducing its prevalence. The primary limitation is that only publication bias was assessed.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42020204979; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php? ID=CRD42020204979.
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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.