Cochrane · systematic review · CD010187
Fortification of maize flour with iron for controlling anaemia and iron deficiency in populations
Garcia‐Casal, MN, Peña‐Rosas, JP, De‐Regil, LM, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2018 · Cochrane Library
Public HealthAMSTAR 2: not assessed
SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.
Questions
5
current version
GRADE rated
4
No studies
1
Included studies
NR
No studies 1 · 20%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 4 · 80%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Questions and results
Provision of maize flour or maize flour products fortified with iron plus other vitamins and minerals versus unfortified maize flours or maize flour products
Population: general population older than 2 years of age (including pregnant women), in Kenya and Mexico
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Anaemia (defined as haemoglobin (Hb) below WHO cut‐off, adjusted for altitude and smoking, as appropriate) Provision of maize flour or maize flour products fortified with iron plus other vitamins and minerals vs unfortified maize flours or maize flour products | RR 0.9 [0.58, 1.4] | 2 studies · 1027 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency, indirectness |
Iron deficiency (as defined by trialists, based on a biomarker of iron status) Provision of maize flour or maize flour products fortified with iron plus other vitamins and minerals vs unfortified maize flours or maize flour products | RR 0.75 [0.49, 1.15] | 2 studies · 1102 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency, indirectness |
Haemoglobin concentration (in g/L) Provision of maize flour or maize flour products fortified with iron plus other vitamins and minerals vs unfortified maize flours or maize flour products | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 1144 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency, indirectness |
Ferritin concentration (in µg/L) Provision of maize flour or maize flour products fortified with iron plus other vitamins and minerals vs unfortified maize flours or maize flour products | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 584 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, indirectness |
Any adverse effects (including constipation, nausea, vomiting, heartburn or diarrhoea, as measured by trialists) Provision of maize flour or maize flour products fortified with iron plus other vitamins and minerals vs unfortified maize flours or maize flour products | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |