Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42465878›Full record

ArticlemedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences2026

Effect of fortified balanced energy-protein supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on infant neurodevelopment: a community-based randomized controlled trial in rural Nepal.

Tsering P Lama, Rita Shrestha, Parul Christian, James M Tielsch, Joanne Katz, Subarna K Khatry, Steven C LeClerq, Daniel J Erchick

Registry-linked trialAbstract readPreprint
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03668977 (Impact of a Balanced Protein-Energy Supplement in Pregnancy and Early Lactation on Reproductive Outcomes and Growth in Southern Nepal), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT03668977 nacompletednot on this map

Impact of a Balanced Protein-Energy Supplement in Pregnancy and Early Lactation on Reproductive Outcomes and Growth in Southern Nepal

TypeinterventionalSponsorGeorge Washington UniversityRan2018 to 2024Enrolled1,944ConditionsPregnancy and Early Lactation Among Women Living in an Area Endemic for MalnutritionArmsFortified balanced protein-energy.
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Tsering P LamaDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Rita ShresthaNepal Nutrition Intervention Project Sarlahi (NNIPS), Kathmandu, Nepal.
Parul ChristianDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
James M TielschDepartment of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1151-060X
Joanne KatzDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5997-7823
Subarna K KhatryNepal Nutrition Intervention Project Sarlahi (NNIPS), Kathmandu, Nepal.
Steven C LeClerqDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Daniel J ErchickDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2852-280X

Funding

Balanced Energy Protein Supplement in Early Lactation on Infant Growth in Southern NepalR01HD109385 · NICHD · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Daniel Joseph Erchick · 2022 to 2026
$2.7M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD109385
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Infant neurodevelopment is associated with maternal nutritional status, yet few studies have evaluated the effects of balanced energy-protein (BEP) supplementation during pregnancy and/or lactation. Methods: The Maternal Infant Nutrition Trial (NCT03668977) was a 2×2 factorial, household randomized, unblinded, efficacy trial conducted in Sarlahi District, Nepal. Pregnant women were randomized to daily fortified BEP supplementation or no supplementation, and those with a live birth were re-randomized after delivery to supplementation or not until 6-months postpartum. The first 100 infants in each of the four intervention groups were enrolled in a neurodevelopment substudy. At 6-months, these infants underwent a cognitive, motor, language, and socioemotional assessment using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, fourth edition. Results: Baseline characteristics were similar across the four trial groups. A significant interaction (p< 0.05) between pregnancy and lactation supplementation groups was observed in the language domain only. Infants born to mothers who received BEP supplementation during pregnancy did not differ in standard scores for cognitive (mean difference (MD): 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.29, 4.29), motor (MD: 0.98, 95% CI: -1.41, 3.36), or socioemotional (MD: -2.35, 95% CI: -5.27, 0.57) domains compared to the pregnancy control group. Similarly, for these three domains, there were no significant differences among infants whose mothers received BEP in lactation period vs. not. Infants born to mothers supplemented in both pregnancy and lactation had significantly higher mean language standard scores of 2.12 (95% CI: 0.16, 4.08; p-interaction = 0.015), driven by the expressive communication subtest, compared to those with no BEP supplementation in either period. Conclusion: BEP supplementation during pregnancy and/or lactation was not associated with improvements in cognitive, motor, or socioemotional domains at 6 months; however, infants of women supplemented in pregnancy and lactation had significant improvements in the language domain. Evaluation at later ages is warranted.

Indexed as

balanced energy-protein supplementBayley-4infant neurodevelopmentlactationpregnancy

Identifiers

PMID42465878
PMCPMC13370556

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Registered trials

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