Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation During Pregnancy on Maternal, Birth, Child Health and Development Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate the effects of Vitamin A supplementation on maternal, birth, child health, and developmental outcomes compared to placebo or no treatment.
Results Summary
The study found that Vitamin A supplementation improved retinol concentration in children, but no significant effects were noted on mortality outcomes or other key health indicators.
Population
Pregnant women and children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplementation | decrease | preterm birth | women | - | showed improvement | #1 |
multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplementation | decrease | small-for-gestational age (SGA) | women | - | showed improvement | #2 |
multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplementation | decrease | low birthweight | women | - | showed improvement | #3 |
multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplementation | decrease | diarrhea incidence | child | - | improved | #4 |
multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplementation | increase | retinol concentration | child | - | improved | #5 |
micronutrient supplementation | no change | maternal mortality | women | little to no effect | had little to no effect | #6 |
micronutrient supplementation | no change | neonatal mortality | women | little to no effect | had little to no effect | #7 |
micronutrient supplementation | no change | perinatal mortality | women | little to no effect | had little to no effect | #8 |
micronutrient supplementation | no change | infant mortality | women | little to no effect | had little to no effect | #9 |
iron-folic (IFA) supplementation | decrease | maternal anemia | women | - | showed notable improvement | #10 |
iron-folic (IFA) supplementation | decrease | low birthweight | women | - | showed notable improvement | #11 |
lipid-based nutrient supplementation (LNS) | no change | outcomes | women | no apparent effect | had no apparent effect | #12 |
calcium supplementation | decrease | pre-eclampsia/eclampsia | women | - | improvements were noted | #13 |
iron supplementation | decrease | maternal anemia | women | - | improvements were noted | #14 |
vitamin D supplementation | decrease | preterm births | women | - | improvements were noted | #15 |
zinc supplementation | increase | maternal serum zinc concentration | women | - | improvements were noted | #16 |
Almost two billion people are deficient in key vitamins and minerals, mostly women and children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Deficiencies worsen during pregnancy due to increased energy and nutritional demands, causing adverse outcomes in mother and child, but could be mitigated by interventions like micronutrient supplementation. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review that aimed to compile evidence from both efficacy and effectiveness trials, evaluating different supplementation interventions on maternal, birth, child health, and developmental outcomes. We evaluated randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies published since 1995 in peer-reviewed and grey literature that assessed the effects of calcium, vitamin A, iron, vitamin D, and zinc supplementation compared to placebo/no treatment; iron-folic (IFA) supplementation compared to folic acid only; multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplementation compared to IFA; and lipid-based nutrient supplementation (LNS) compared to MMN supplementation. Seventy-two studies, which collectively involved 314 papers (451,723 women), were included. Meta-analyses showed improvement in several key birth outcomes, such as preterm birth, small-for-gestational age (SGA) and low birthweight with MMN supplementation, compared to IFA. MMN also improved child outcomes, including diarrhea incidence and retinol concentration, which are findings not previously reported. Across all comparisons, micronutrient supplementation had little to no effect on mortality (maternal, neonatal, perinatal, and infant) outcomes, which is consistent with other systematic reviews. IFA supplementation showed notable improvement in maternal anemia and the reduction in low birthweight, whereas LNS supplementation had no apparent effect on outcomes; further research that compares LNS and MMN supplementation could help understand differences with these commodities. For single micronutrient supplementation, improvements were noted in only a few outcomes, mainly pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (calcium), maternal anemia (iron), preterm births (vitamin D), and maternal serum zinc concentration (zinc). These findings highlight that micronutrient-specific supplementation should be tailored to specific groups or needs for maximum benefit. In addition, they further contribute to the ongoing discourse of choosing antenatal MMN over IFA as the standard of care in LMICs.