SynthesisGlobal health action2023
Childhood undernutrition in North Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.
Synthesis in Global health action, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Coexisting burden of maternal and child undernutrition in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Seasonal prevalence of child undernutrition and its associated factors in the west Gojjam zone, Ethiopia.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Article
- Socio-ecological determinants of multiple anthropometric failures among under-five children: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Undernutrition-induced stunting-like phenotype inNarra J · 2024Article
- Trends in the Prevalence and Factors Associated with Undernutrition in Tunisian Children Aged 0-23 Months.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Review
- Birth weight mediates the association of maternal undernutrition with child undernutrition prevalence in West Africa.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2024Article
- Theories, determinants, and intervention models and approaches on inequalities of undernutrition amongst under fives: A literature review.Health science reports · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUndernutrition remains a major public health issue in low- and middle-income countries. Objective Our aim for this study was to identify the factors contributing to undernutrition in children under five years old in North Africa.
methodsWe searched five electronic bibliographic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase (Ovid), ProQuest, and CINAHL) for eligible observational studies published after 2006. STATA version 17 software was used to calculate the odds ratios between associated factors and indicators of undernutrition, with 95% confidence intervals. For each factor, the overall odds were pooled using a forest plot. Due to the significant heterogeneity among the studies (I2 > 50%), a random-effects model was used, and sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the effect of outliers.
resultsOut of 1093 initially identified studies, 14 met the selection criteria. Our meta-analysis revealed that uneducated mothers were the most common factor associated with undernutrition in North African children. Children aged 0-23 months were significantly associated with stunting (odds ratios (OR) = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.18; 1.37) and wasting (OR = 1.68; 95% CI: 1.42; 1.99). Children living in rural areas were also at higher odds of being stunted (OR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.64; 1.84) and underweight (OR = 1.59; 95% CI: 1.35; 1.88). These analyses also indicated that a lower wealth index, mothers' nutritional health, uneducated fathers, and low birth weight were other factors significantly associated with stunting.
conclusionAddressing undernutrition in Northern Africa requires a multidisciplinary approach prioritising mothers and young children, especially families in underprivileged areas.
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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 Socratic graph.