TY - JOUR

T1 - Egg consumption and growth in children

T2 - a meta-analysis of interventional trials

AU - Larson, Elisabeth A.

AU - Zhao, Zaixin

AU - Bader-Larsen, Karlen S.

AU - Magkos, Faidon

N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2024 Larson, Zhao, Bader-Larsen and Magkos.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Introduction: Stunting and wasting are prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, putting children at risk for disease and disability. Eggs are a nutrient-rich food that can potentially facilitate growth. Purpose: The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the potential beneficial effect of egg supplementation on growth in children. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, PubMed and Healthline (Ovid) were systematically searched for interventional studies on egg supplementation for growth in children aged 6 months to 18 years, with no restrictions on date. Studies were evaluated for quality using Cochrane’s GRADE technique. Data were pooled and reported as means and 95% confidence intervals. Results: Seven studies reporting on 9 unique interventions in 3,575 male and female participants were included in the meta-analysis. Participants in the intervention groups experienced significantly greater increases in height/length (by 0.47 [0.13, 0.80] cm, p < 0.01) and weight (by 0.07 [0.01, 0.13] kg, p = 0.03) when compared to those in the control groups. Conclusion: Eggs are an affordable, nutritious option for improving growth in children, though more studies with longer interventions are warranted. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO (CRD42021289609: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/).

AB - Introduction: Stunting and wasting are prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, putting children at risk for disease and disability. Eggs are a nutrient-rich food that can potentially facilitate growth. Purpose: The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the potential beneficial effect of egg supplementation on growth in children. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, PubMed and Healthline (Ovid) were systematically searched for interventional studies on egg supplementation for growth in children aged 6 months to 18 years, with no restrictions on date. Studies were evaluated for quality using Cochrane’s GRADE technique. Data were pooled and reported as means and 95% confidence intervals. Results: Seven studies reporting on 9 unique interventions in 3,575 male and female participants were included in the meta-analysis. Participants in the intervention groups experienced significantly greater increases in height/length (by 0.47 [0.13, 0.80] cm, p < 0.01) and weight (by 0.07 [0.01, 0.13] kg, p = 0.03) when compared to those in the control groups. Conclusion: Eggs are an affordable, nutritious option for improving growth in children, though more studies with longer interventions are warranted. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO (CRD42021289609: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/).

KW - children

KW - egg

KW - growth

KW - stunting

KW - supplement

KW - wasting

U2 - 10.3389/fnut.2023.1278753

DO - 10.3389/fnut.2023.1278753

M3 - Review

C2 - 38249601

AN - SCOPUS:85182643011

VL - 10

JO - Frontiers in Nutrition

JF - Frontiers in Nutrition

SN - 2296-861X

M1 - 1278753

ER -