Table 1.
Meta-analysis results.
| Pooled Analysis | Heterogeneity | Publication Bias | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RR (95% CI) | p-Value | I2 | p-Value | Egger’s Test | Begg’s and Mazdumdar’s Tests | |||
| T | p-Value | Z | p-Value | |||||
| RCT | ||||||||
| Human milk (breastfeeding and donor) vs preterm formula k = 6 [6,27,28,29,30,31] |
0.62 (0.42–0.93) | 0.02 | 47.03 | 0.009 | −1.82 | 0.144 | −2.44 | 0.015 |
| Human milk (breastfeeding and donor) vs preterm formula k = 4 * [27,28,29,30] |
0.57 (0.32–1.01) | 0.054 | 64.01 | 0.040 | −1.64 | 0.243 | −2.04 | 0.174 |
| Observational studies | ||||||||
| >50° quantile of human milk of total enteral feeding k = 7 [48,49,50,51,52,53,54] |
0.51 (0.31–0.85) | 0.001 | 9.21 | 0.359 | −2.02 | 0.078 | −02.27 | 0.788 |
| Human milk (breastfeeding and donor) vs preterm formula k = 18 [3,4,5,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47] |
0.45 (0.32–0.62) | <0.001 | 55.25 | 0.002 | −0.35 | 0.731 | 0.11 | 0.910 |
| Human milk (breastfeeding and donor) vs preterm formula k = 15 [32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47] |
0.45 (0.30–0.69) | <0.001 | 56.61 | 0.004 | −0.97 | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.729 |
| Human milk (breastfeeding and donor) vs mixed feeding k = 3 [35,36,37] |
0.74 (0.63–0.91) | 0.003 | 0.00 | 0.407 | 0.11 | 0.925 | −0.68 | 0.497 |
| Mixed feeding vs preterm formula k = 4 [37,38]. |
1.37 (1.13–1.65) | 0.001 | 0.00 | 0.774 | 0.23 | 0.871 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
Legend: RCT: randomized controlled trial; RR: relative risk; CI: confidence interval; k: numbers of primary studies *Excluding paper reporting NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis) incidence >15% of in preterm formula groups.