scholarly journals The effects of dietary and lifestyle interventions among pregnant women with overweight or obesity on early childhood outcomes: an individual participant data meta-analysis from randomised trials

BMC Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennie Louise ◽  
Amanda J. Poprzeczny ◽  
Andrea R. Deussen ◽  
Christina Vinter ◽  
Mette Tanvig ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The impact of maternal obesity extends beyond birth, being independently associated with an increased risk of child obesity. Current evidence demonstrates that women provided with a dietary intervention during pregnancy improve their dietary quality and have a modest reduction in gestational weight gain. However, the effect of this on longer-term childhood obesity-related outcomes is unknown. Methods We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis from RCTs in which women with a singleton, live gestation between 10+0 and 20+0 weeks and body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2 in early pregnancy were randomised to a diet and/or lifestyle intervention or continued standard antenatal care and in which longer-term maternal and child follow-up at 3–5 years of age had been undertaken. The primary childhood outcome was BMI z-score above the 90th percentile. Secondary childhood outcomes included skinfold thickness measurements and body circumferences, fat-free mass, dietary and physical activity patterns, blood pressure, and neurodevelopment. Results Seven primary trials where follow-up of participants occurred were identified by a systematic literature search within the International Weight Management in Pregnancy (i-WIP) Collaborative Group collaboration, with six providing individual participant data. No additional studies were identified after a systematic literature search. A total of 2529 children and 2383 women contributed data. Approximately 30% of all child participants had a BMI z-score above the 90th percentile, with no significant difference between the intervention and control groups (aRR 0.97; 95% CI 0.87, 1.08; p=0.610). There were no statistically significant differences identified for any of the secondary outcome measures. Conclusions In overweight and obese pregnant women, we found no evidence that maternal dietary and/or lifestyle intervention during pregnancy modifies the risk of early childhood obesity. Future research may need to target the pre-conception period in women and early childhood interventions. Trial registration PROSPERO, CRD42016047165

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kylie E Hunter ◽  
Brittany J Johnson ◽  
Lisa Askie ◽  
Rebecca K Golley ◽  
Louise A Baur ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIntroductionBehavioural interventions in early life appear to show some effect in reducing childhood overweight and obesity. However, uncertainty remains regarding their overall effectiveness, and whether effectiveness differs among key subgroups. These evidence gaps have prompted an increase in very early childhood obesity prevention trials worldwide. Combining the individual participant data (IPD) from these trials will enhance statistical power to determine overall effectiveness and enable examination of intervention-covariate interactions. We present a protocol for a systematic review with IPD meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of obesity prevention interventions commencing antenatally or in the first year after birth, and to explore whether there are differential effects among key subgroups.Methods and analysisSystematic searches of Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and trial registries for all ongoing and completed randomised controlled trials evaluating behavioural interventions for the prevention of early childhood obesity have been completed up to March 2020 and will be updated annually to include additional trials. Eligible trialists will be asked to share their IPD; if unavailable, aggregate data will be used where possible. An IPD meta-analysis and a nested prospective meta-analysis (PMA) will be performed using methodologies recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration. The primary outcome will be body mass index (BMI) z-score at age 24 +/- 6 months using World Health Organisation Growth Standards, and effect differences will be explored among pre-specified individual and trial-level subgroups. Secondary outcomes include other child weight-related measures, infant feeding, dietary intake, physical activity, sedentary behaviours, sleep, parenting measures and adverse events.Ethics and disseminationApproved by The University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (2020/273) and Flinders University Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee (project no. HREC CIA2133-1). Results will be relevant to clinicians, child health services, researchers, policy-makers and families, and will be disseminated via publications, presentations, and media releases.RegistrationProspectively registered on PROSPERO: CRD42020177408STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDYThis will be the largest individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis evaluating behavioural interventions for the prevention of early childhood obesity to date, and will provide the most reliable and precise estimates of early intervention effects to inform future decision-making.IPD meta-analysis methodology will enable unprecedented exploration of important individual and trial-level characteristics that may be associated with childhood obesity or that may be effect modifiers.The proposed innovative methodologies are feasible and have been successfully piloted by members of our group.It may not be possible to obtain IPD from all eligible trials; in this instance, aggregate data will be used where available, and sensitivity analyses will be conducted to assess inclusion bias.Outcome measures may be collected and reported differently across included trials, potentially increasing imprecision; however, we will harmonise available data where possible, and encourage those planning or conducting ongoing trials to collect common core outcomes following prospective meta-analysis methodology.


2021 ◽  
pp. 027112142110327
Author(s):  
Esther R. Lindström ◽  
Jason C. Chow ◽  
Kathleen N. Zimmerman ◽  
Hongyang Zhao ◽  
Elise Settanni ◽  
...  

Engagement in early childhood has been linked with later achievement, but the relation between these variables and how they are measured in early childhood requires examination. We estimated the overall association between academic engagement and achievement in children prior to kindergarten entry. Our systematic literature search yielded 13,521 reports for structured eligibility screening; from this pool of studies, we identified 21 unique data sets, with 199 effect sizes for analysis. We coded eligible studies, extracted effect sizes, accounted for effect size dependency, and used random-effects models to synthesize findings. The overall correlation between academic engagement and achievement was r = .24 (range: −.08 to −.71), and moderator analyses did not significantly predict the relation between the two constructs. This study aligns with previous research on this topic and examines issues related to these measures, their constraints, and applications as they pertain to early childhood research.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. e029716
Author(s):  
Lea Wildisen ◽  
Elisavet Moutzouri ◽  
Shanthi Beglinger ◽  
Lamprini Syrogiannouli ◽  
Anne R Cappola ◽  
...  

IntroductionProspective cohort studies on the association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and depressive symptoms have yielded conflicting findings, possibly because of differences in age, sex, thyroid-stimulating hormone cut-off levels or degree of baseline depressive symptoms. Analysis of individual participant data (IPD) may help clarify this association.Methods and analysisWe will conduct a systematic review and IPD meta-analysis of prospective studies on the association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and depressive symptoms. We will identify studies through a systematic search of the literature in the Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases from inception to April 2019 and from the Thyroid Studies Collaboration. We will ask corresponding authors of studies that meet our inclusion criteria to collaborate by providing IPD. Our primary outcome will be depressive symptoms at the first available individual follow-up, measured on a validated scale. We will convert all the scores to the Beck Depression Inventory scale. For each cohort, we will estimate the mean difference of depressive symptoms between participants with subclinical hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism and control adjusted for depressive symptoms at baseline. Furthermore, we will adjust our multivariable linear regression analyses for age, sex, education and income. We will pool the effect estimates of all studies in a random-effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity will be assessed by I2. Our secondary outcomes will be depressive symptoms at a specific follow-up time, at the last available individual follow-up and incidence of depression at the first, last and at a specific follow-up time. For the binary outcome of incident depression, we will use a logistic regression model.Ethics and disseminationFormal ethical approval is not required as primary data will not be collected. Our findings will have considerable implications for patient care. We will seek to publish this systematic review and IPD meta-analysis in a high-impact clinical journal.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018091627.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (25) ◽  
pp. 1-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rod S Taylor ◽  
Sarah Walker ◽  
Oriana Ciani ◽  
Fiona Warren ◽  
Neil A Smart ◽  
...  

Background Current national and international guidelines on the management of heart failure (HF) recommend exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (ExCR), but do not differentiate this recommendation according to patient subgroups. Objectives (1) To obtain definitive estimates of the impact of ExCR interventions compared with no exercise intervention (control) on mortality, hospitalisation, exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in HF patients; (2) to determine the differential (subgroup) effects of ExCR in HF patients according to their age, sex, left ventricular ejection fraction, HF aetiology, New York Heart Association class and baseline exercise capacity; and (3) to assess whether or not the change in exercise capacity mediates for the impact of the ExCR on final outcomes (mortality, hospitalisation and HRQoL), and determine if this is an acceptable surrogate end point. Design This was an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis. Setting An international literature review. Participants HF patients in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of ExCR. Interventions ExCR for at least 3 weeks compared with a no-exercise control, with 6 months’ follow-up. Main outcome measures All-cause and HF-specific mortality, all-cause and HF-specific hospitalisation, exercise capacity and HRQoL. Data sources IPD from eligible RCTs. Review methods RCTs from the Exercise Training Meta-Analysis of Trials for Chronic Heart Failure (ExTraMATCH/ExTraMATCH II) IPD meta-analysis and a 2014 Cochrane systematic review of ExCR (Taylor RS, Sagar VA, Davies EJ, Briscoe S, Coats AJ, Dalal H, et al. Exercise-based rehabilitation for heart failure. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2014;4:CD003331). Results Out of the 23 eligible RCTs (4398 patients), 19 RCTs (3990 patients) contributed data to this IPD meta-analysis. There was a wide variation in exercise programme prescriptions across included studies. Compared with control, there was no statistically significant difference in pooled time-to-event estimates in favour of ExCR, although confidence intervals (CIs) were wide: all-cause mortality had a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.83 (95% CI 0.67 to 1.04); HF-related mortality had a HR of 0.84 (95% CI 0.49 to 1.46); all-cause hospitalisation had a HR of 0.90 (95% CI 0.76 to 1.06); and HF-related hospitalisation had a HR of 0.98 (95% CI 0.72 to 1.35). There was a statistically significant difference in favour of ExCR for exercise capacity and HRQoL. Compared with the control, improvements were seen in the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) (mean 21.0 m, 95% CI 1.57 to 40.4 m) and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire score (mean –5.94, 95% CI –1.0 to –10.9; lower scores indicate improved HRQoL) at 12 months’ follow-up. No strong evidence for differential intervention effects across patient characteristics was found for any outcomes. Moderate to good levels of correlation (R 2 trial > 50% and p > 0.50) between peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) or the 6MWT with mortality and HRQoL were seen. The estimated surrogate threshold effect was an increase of 1.6 to 4.6 ml/kg/minute for VO2peak. Limitations There was a lack of consistency in how included RCTs defined and collected the outcomes: it was not possible to obtain IPD from all includable trials for all outcomes and patient-level data on exercise adherence was not sought. Conclusions In comparison with the no-exercise control, participation in ExCR improved the exercise and HRQoL in HF patients, but appeared to have no effect on their mortality or hospitalisation. No strong evidence was found of differential intervention effects of ExCR across patient characteristics. VO2peak and 6MWT may be suitable surrogate end points for the treatment effect of ExCR on mortality and HRQoL in HF. Future studies should aim to achieve a consensus on the definition of outcomes and promote reporting of a core set of HF data. The research team also seeks to extend current policies to encourage study authors to allow access to RCT data for the purpose of meta-analysis. Study registration This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42014007170. Funding The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hee Joong Lee ◽  
Tae Chul Park ◽  
Jae Hoon Kim ◽  
Errol Norwitz ◽  
Banghyun Lee

Objective. To conduct systematic analyses to evaluate the efficacy of progesterone therapy for the prevention of miscarriages in pregnant women experiencing threatened abortion. Methods. In November 2016, we performed a systematic literature search and identified 51 articles in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases. We identified nine randomized trials that included 913 pregnant women (including 322 treated with oral dydrogesterone, 213 treated with vaginal progesterone, and 378 control subjects) who met the selection criteria. Results. The incidence of miscarriage was significantly lower in the total progesterone group than in the control group (13.0% versus 21.7%; odds ratio, 0.53; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.36 to 0.78; P=0.001; I2, 0%). Moreover, the incidence of miscarriage was significantly lower in the oral dydrogesterone group than in the control group (11.7% versus 22.6%; odds ratio, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.26 to 0.71; P=0.001; I2, 0%) and was lower in the vaginal progesterone group than in the control group, although this difference was nonsignificant (15.4% versus 20.3%; odds ratio, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.39 to 1.34; P=0.30; I2, 0%). However, the incidence of miscarriage was not different between the oral dydrogesterone and vaginal progesterone groups. Conclusion. Progesterone therapy, especially oral dydrogesterone, can effectively prevent miscarriage in pregnant women experiencing threatened abortion.


Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132098568
Author(s):  
Mark Rodgers ◽  
Mark Simmonds ◽  
David Marshall ◽  
Robert Hodgson ◽  
Lesley A Stewart ◽  
...  

This individual participant data meta-analysis is the most intensive possible evaluation of the effectiveness of early intensive applied behaviour analysis–based interventions for pre-school autistic children compared with treatment as usual/eclectic interventions. Data from 491 participants (originally collected in 10 studies) were included. Children receiving early intensive applied behaviour analysis–based interventions improved more on the Vineland adaptive behaviour scale (MD = 7.00; 95% confidence interval = 1.95–12.06) and cognitive ability (intelligence quotient) (MD = 14.13; 95% confidence interval = 9.16–19.10) relative to comparators at 2 years; though effects varied considerably across studies. Evidence for other outcomes was inconclusive due to insufficient evidence and there were few data on longer-term effects. All studies were at risk of bias across several domains, often due to the lack of randomisation or blinding of outcome assessors. Given the emerging evidence of modest, albeit short term, effects of a range of pre-school autism interventions and the limitations of the quality of evaluation studies to date, future research should investigate which supports and interventions are most effective for children and families prioritising outcomes measures that are meaningful for the autism community and longer-term follow-up. Further systematic reviews of the existing evidence are unlikely to add to the findings presented here. Lay abstract Early intensive applied behaviour analysis–based interventions are designed to support young autistic children’s learning and development. Unfortunately, the available evidence about the effectiveness of these interventions remains unclear. Several reviews have focused on the published findings rather than contacting the authors to collect and analyse data about the individual participants in the original studies. Also, most of the studies were carried out by groups involved in delivering the interventions leading to the potential bias in interpreting the results. Our research team (supported by an international advisory group) carried out an independent individual patient data review by collecting the original participant data from the authors of the studies, to examine the effectiveness of these interventions. The results suggested that early intensive applied behaviour analysis–based interventions might lead to some changes in children’s cognitive ability (intelligence quotient) and everyday life skills after 2 years, compared with standard treatments. However, all the studies had problems with the way they were designed. Also, few of the studies looked at outcomes that have been described as most important to autistic people or followed children beyond 2 years. We think that further systematic reviews of the existing evidence are unlikely to add to the findings of our review. Furthermore, we recommend that future research should investigate which types of supports and interventions are most effective for children and families, prioritising outcomes measures that are meaningful for the autism community and include, wherever possible, longer-term follow-up.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Driessen ◽  
Zachary D. Cohen ◽  
Myrna M. Weissman ◽  
John C. Markowitz ◽  
Erica S. Weitz ◽  
...  

Background Antidepressant medication and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) are both recommended interventions in depression treatment guidelines based on literature reviews and meta-analyses. However, ‘conventional’ meta-analyses comparing their efficacy are limited by their reliance on reported study-level information and a narrow focus on depression outcome measures assessed at treatment completion. Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis, considered the gold standard in evidence synthesis, can improve the quality of the analyses when compared with conventional meta-analysis. Aims We describe the protocol for a systematic review and IPD meta-analysis comparing the efficacy of antidepressants and IPT for adult acute-phase depression across a range of outcome measures, including depressive symptom severity as well as functioning and well-being, at both post-treatment and follow-up (PROSPERO: CRD42020219891). Method We will conduct a systematic literature search in PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase and the Cochrane Library to identify randomised clinical trials comparing antidepressants and IPT in the acute-phase treatment of adults with depression. We will invite the authors of these studies to share the participant-level data of their trials. One-stage IPD meta-analyses will be conducted using mixed-effects models to assess treatment effects at post-treatment and follow-up for all outcome measures that are assessed in at least two studies. Conclusions This will be the first IPD meta-analysis examining antidepressants versus IPT efficacy. This study has the potential to enhance our knowledge of depression treatment by comparing the short- and long-term effects of two widely used interventions across a range of outcome measures using state-of-the-art statistical techniques.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document