Association of Low Birth Weight with the Risk of Childhood Stunting in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Neonatology
; 121(2): 244-257, 2024.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38198767
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Stunting is an important predictor of growth and development of children under 5 years of age, and it remains the significant problem in LMIC. However, LBW emerges as risk factor, but its association with LMIC needs attention.OBJECTIVE:
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association of low birth weight with the risk of childhood stunting among the age group of 0-5 years in LMICs.METHODS:
PubMed, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched from January 1, 2010 untill December 20, 2021. Cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control study designs were included in the meta-analyses. The pooled odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was reported considering the random-effects and the quality-effects models. The subgroup analysis and meta-regression were conducted for study design, geographical location, and sample size.RESULTS:
Low birth weight was associated with >2-fold increased risk of childhood stunting (pooled OR 2.32; 95% CI, 2.05-2.62). Asian studies have shown relatively higher risk than African studies in stratified analyses. The cohort studies predicted a higher risk of childhood stunting, followed by case-control and cross-sectional study designs, and the sample size stratification showed that studies with sample size <1,000 predicted much higher risk than relatively to the studies with sample size >1,000. The meta-regression was performed in all three subgroups, but none of the models appeared significant.CONCLUSION:
This meta-analysis confirmed the association of low birth weight with the higher risk of childhood stunting among the 0-5 years' age group and suggests a moderately higher risk in Asia as compared to Africa.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Infant, Low Birth Weight
/
Developing Countries
/
Growth Disorders
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
/
Systematic_reviews
Limits:
Child, preschool
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Newborn
Language:
En
Journal:
Neonatol
/
Neonatology
Journal subject:
PERINATOLOGIA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
India
Country of publication:
Switzerland