Malaria, malnutrition, and birthweight: A meta-analysis using individual participant data.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Four studies previously indicated that the effect of malaria infection during pregnancy on the risk of low birthweight (LBW; <2,500 g) may depend upon maternal nutritional status. We investigated this dependence further using a large, diverse study population.

Methods and findings

We evaluated the interaction between maternal malaria infection and maternal anthropometric status on the risk of LBW using pooled data from 14,633 pregnancies from 13 studies (6 cohort studies and 7 randomized controlled trials) conducted in Africa and the Western Pacific from 1996-2015. Studies were identified by the Maternal Malaria and Malnutrition (M3) initiative using a convenience sampling approach and were eligible for pooling given adequate ethical approval and availability of e

SUBMITTER: Cates JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5549702 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature