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Kuper P, Hasenpusch C, Proebstl S, Matterne U, Hornung CJ, Grätsch E, Li M, Sprenger AA, Pieper D, Koplin JJ, Perkin MR, Genuneit J, Apfelbacher C. Timing of complementary feeding for early childhood allergy prevention: An overview of systematic reviews. Clin Exp Allergy 2023; 53:1243-1255. [PMID: 37779264 DOI: 10.1111/cea.14399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To summarise and critically appraise systematic review (SR) evidence on the effects of timing of complementary feeding (CF) on the occurrence of allergic sensitisation and disease. DESIGN Overview of SRs. AMSTAR-2 and ROBIS were used to assess methodological quality and risk of bias (RoB) of SRs. RoB 2 Tool was used to assess RoB of primary randomised controlled trials (RCTs) (or extracted). The certainty of evidence (CoE) was assessed using GRADE. Findings were synthesised narratively. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE (via PubMed and Ovid), the Cochrane Library and Web of Science Core Collection (2010 to 27 February 2023). ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA SRs investigating the effects of timing of CF in infants or young children (0-3 years) on risk of developing food allergy (FA), allergic sensitisation, asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic eczema and adverse events based on RCT evidence. RESULTS Eleven SRs were included. Only two SRs had low RoB; common issues were failure to report on funding of primary studies and failure to provide a list of excluded trials. Common limitations of included trials were lack of blinding of outcome assessment or detailed trial preregistration, and inadequate handling of high loss to follow up. Primary study overlap was very high for specific FA and slight to moderate for FA in general and other primary outcomes. Introducing specific foods (peanut, cooked egg) early probably reduces the risk of specific FA. Evidence for other allergic outcomes was mostly very uncertain and based on few primary studies. Trials varied regarding timing of CF, nature of complementary foods and population risk, which limited comparability between SRs. CONCLUSIONS For developing guidelines to support decision-making on the timing of CF as a preventive strategy, early introduction of specific foods (i.e. egg and peanut) seems promising and safe, whereas more extensive research is required regarding other allergic outcomes and potential adverse events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Kuper
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Hasenpusch
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Simone Proebstl
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Uwe Matterne
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Catherine J Hornung
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Centre for Food & Allergy Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Esther Grätsch
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Mengtong Li
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Antonia A Sprenger
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Dawid Pieper
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Institute for Health Services and Health System Research, Rüdersdorf, Germany
- Center for Health Services Research, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Rüdersdorf, Germany
| | - Jennifer J Koplin
- Centre for Food & Allergy Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Michael R Perkin
- Population Health Research Institute, St. George's University London, London, UK
| | - Jon Genuneit
- Pediatric Epidemiology, Department of Pediatrics, Medical Faculty, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christian Apfelbacher
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
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Matterne U, Theurich MA, Pröbstl S, Pieper D, Wang J, Xu A, Apfelbacher C. Quality of systematic reviews on timing of complementary feeding for early childhood allergy prevention. BMC Med Res Methodol 2023; 23:80. [PMID: 37016313 PMCID: PMC10071735 DOI: 10.1186/s12874-023-01899-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Only rigorously prepared analyses can provide the highest level of evidence to inform decision-making. Several recent systematic reviews (SRs) examined the hypothesis that the early introduction of specific allergenic complementary foods (CFs) to infants may lead to a lower incidence of one or more allergic outcomes. However, the methodological rigour and quality of reporting of SRs in this area has not yet been systematically evaluated. METHODS We comprehensively searched PubMed, Medline (Ovid), and Web of Science Core Collection on 13th January 2022, using a pre-specified and tested search syntax for SRs with RCT evidence on the early introduction of allergenic CFs as a means for allergy prevention in infants and children. We examined the quality and risk of bias (RoB) using AMSTAR-2 and ROBIS tools, examined adherence to the Preferred Reporting Items for SRs and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), and checked whether certainty of the evidence was assessed. RESULTS Twelve SRs were included. Application of both tools resulted in similar overall judgements in terms of direction and extent for nine of the 12 SRs. Nine SRs were found to be of critically low to low quality according to AMSTAR-2 and to be at high RoB according to ROBIS. One SR received a moderate quality rating (AMSTAR-2) and high RoB rating (ROBIS). However, for two SRs, judgements between AMSTAR-2 and ROBIS were at stark variance. Only two SRs fully adhered to the PRISMA checklist. Six SRs evaluated the certainty of the body of RCT evidence. Several SRs failed to consider unpublished studies either by an explicit a priori exclusion or by inadequate search strategies. CONCLUSIONS Well-conducted SRs are important for decision-making and informing guideline development, the quality of their methodology should therefore be considered. The methodological rigour and the reporting quality of SRs on the timing of CF for allergy prevention must be improved. REGISTRATION https://osf.io/7cs4b .
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Affiliation(s)
- Uwe Matterne
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Melissa A Theurich
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Simone Pröbstl
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Dawid Pieper
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School (Theodor Fontane), Institute for Health Services and Health Systems Research, Rüdersdorf, Germany
- Center for Health Services Research, Brandenburg Medical School (Theodor Fontane), Rüdersdorf, Germany
| | - Jiancong Wang
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Anna Xu
- University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Christian Apfelbacher
- Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany.
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