Summary of findings 2. Home (point‐of‐use) fortification of foods with multiple micronutrient powders versus an iron‐only supplement in children under two years of age.
| Population: children 6 to 23 months of age Settings: community settings Intervention: home fortification with multiple micronutrient powders (duration 2 months) Comparison: iron‐only supplement | ||||||
| Outcomes | Anticipated absolute effects* (95% CI) |
Relative effect (95% CI) |
№ of participants (studies) |
Certainty of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Risk with iron supplements | Risk with multiple micronutrient powders | |||||
| Anaemia (haemoglobin values lower than 110 g/L) | Study population | RR 0.89 (0.58 to 1.39) | 145 (1 RCT) |
⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowa | ‐ | |
| 467 per 1000 | 415 per 1000 (271 to 649) | |||||
| Iron deficiency (as defined by trialists) | Not measured | |||||
| Haemoglobin concentration (g/L) | Mean haemoglobin concentration ranged across control groups from 101 g/L to 110 g/L | Mean haemoglobin concentration in intervention groups was, on average, 2.81 g/L lower (10.84 lower to 5.22 higher) | ‐ | 278 (2 RCTs) |
⊕⊝⊝⊝ Very lowa,b | ‐ |
| Iron status (as defined by trialists) | Not measured | |||||
| Weight‐for‐age (z scores) | Not measured | |||||
| All‐cause mortality | Not measured | |||||
| *The risk in the intervention group (and its 95% CI) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; RCT: randomised controlled trial; RR: risk ratio. | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence. High certainty: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect. Moderate certainty: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate; the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different. Low certainty: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited; the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect. Very low certainty: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate; the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect. | ||||||
aDowngraded two levels due to small sample size and wide 95% CI. bDowngraded one level due to considerable statistical heterogeneity and inconsistency in the results between trials.