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. 2019 Feb 19;2019(2):CD012818. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012818.pub2

He 2005.

Methods Study design: randomized controlled trial
 Study duration: 9 months
Start date: April 2001
End date: December 2001
Participants Country and setting: China (LMIC at time of study); preschools in the Fangshan District of Beijing
Population: not reported
Inclusion criteria:

  1. "Good health status" (quote)

  2. HAZ or WAZ lower than 2005 WHO reference level

  3. birthweight higher than 2.5 kg


Exclusion criteria:

  1. obesity or overweight

  2. congenital disease

  3. chronic infectious disease

  4. history of gastrointestinal operation

  5. taking antibiotics for > 1 week

  6. growth retardation in womb

  7. dislike of yogurt

  8. lack of parental consent


Nutritional status: baseline characteristics not available, but study notes that intake of calcium, zinc, and vitamin B2 were roughly 40%, 65%, and 80% of DRIs, respectively
Number: 402 (201 in intervention group, 201 in control group)
Age: mean age at enrollment: 50.9 months in intervention group, 50.3 months in control group
Sex: 43% female in intervention group, 45% female in control group
Typical diet: not provided
Interventions Intervention: yogurt; 1 × 125 g cup of yogurt provided 5 days per week (Monday to Friday, while at school)
Control: no food
Outcomes Primary:

  1. anthropometry, including linear growth, weight gain, and upper‐arm circumference


Secondary:

  1. bone mineral density (BMD)

  2. incidence of upper respiratory infection

  3. diarrhea


Measurement:

  1. Anthropometry:

    1. standing height of children on barefoot recorded to nearest 0.1 cm

    2. body weight in underwear recorded to nearest 0.1 kg using a digital electronic scale

    3. upper‐arm circumference measured to nearest 0.1 cm using soft ruler at middle point of upper arm

  2. BMD: measured at forearm by scanning 1/3 of forearm by single photon absorptiometer (BMD400 absorptiometer, made by Chinese Institute of Atomic Energy, Beijing)


Time points: baseline, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months for all outcomes except morbidity, which was collected monthly
Notes Funding: not reported
Declared conflict of interest: not reported
Other notes: attrition not reported
Risk of bias
Bias Authors' judgement Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias) Unclear risk Comment: insufficient information to assess
Allocation concealment (selection bias) Unclear risk Comment: insufficient information to assess
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) 
 All outcomes Unclear risk Comment: insufficient information to assess
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) 
 All outcomes Low risk Comment: objective outcome assessment unlikely to have introduced bias
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) 
 All outcomes Unclear risk Comment: attrition rates not reported
Selective reporting (reporting bias) Unclear risk Comment: all prespecified outcomes or expected outcomes of interest to the review reported
Other bias Low risk Comment: apparently free of other sources of bias