Impact of home food production on nutritional blindness, stunting, wasting, underweight and mortality in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials

Bassey, Chizoba, Crooks, Harriet, Paterson, Katherine, Ball, Rachel, Howell, Kristoffer, Humphries-Cuff, Iona, Gaffigan, Kirsty, Rao, Nitya ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6318-0147, Whitty, Jennifer A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5886-1933 and Hooper, Lee ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7904-3331 (2022) Impact of home food production on nutritional blindness, stunting, wasting, underweight and mortality in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 62 (7). pp. 1856-1869. ISSN 1040-8398

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Abstract

Vitamin A deficiency is highly prevalent and remains the major cause of nutritional blindness in children in low-and middle-income countries, despite supplementation programmes. Xeropthalmia (severe drying and thickening of the conjunctiva) is caused by vitamin A deficiency and leads to irreversible blindness. Vitamin A supplementation programmes effectively reduce vitamin A deficiency but many rural children are not reached. Home food production may help prevent rural children’s vitamin A deficiency. We aimed to systematically review trials assessing effects of home food production (also called homestead food production and agricultural interventions) on xeropthalmia, night blindness, stunting, wasting, underweight and mortality (primary outcomes). We searched Medline, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane CENTRAL and trials registers to February 2019. Inclusion of studies, data extraction and risk of bias were assessed independently in duplicate. Random-effects meta-analysis, sensitivity analyses, subgrouping and GRADE were used. We included 16 trials randomizing 2498 children, none reported xerophthalmia, night-blindness or mortality. Home food production may slightly reduce stunting (mean difference (MD) 0.13 (z-score), 95% CI 0.01 to 0.24), wasting (MD 0.05 (z-score), 95% CI -0.04 to 0.14) and underweight (MD 0.07 (z-score), 95% CI -0.01 to 0.15) in young children (all GRADE low-consistency evidence), and increase dietary diversity (standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.24, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.34). Home food production may usefully complement vitamin A supplementation for rural children. Large, long-duration trials with good randomization, allocation concealment and correct adjustment for clustering are needed to assess effectiveness of home food production on nutritional blindness in young children. Prospero registration: CRD42019126455 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42019126455)

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: retinol,xerophthalmia,infant nutrition disorders,night blindness,gardening,anthropometry,meta-analysis,child nutrition disorders,sdg 2 - zero hunger ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/zero_hunger
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School

Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Global Development (formerly School of International Development)
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Literacy and Development Group
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Life Course, Migration and Wellbeing
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Health and Disease
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Gender and Development
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Respiratory and Airways Group
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Public Health and Health Services Research (former - to 2023)
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Services and Primary Care
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Economics
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > UEA Hydrate Group
University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 10 Nov 2020 01:17
Last Modified: 05 May 2024 19:30
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/77602
DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1848786

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