Objective: To evaluate the effect of iron supplementation on mental and motor development in children through a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Data sources: Electronic databases, personal files, hand search of reviews, bibliographies of books, abstracts and proceedings of international conferences. Review methods: RCTs with interventions that included oral or parenteral iron supplementation, fortified formula milk or cereals were evaluated. The outcomes studied were mental and motor development scores and various individual development tests employed, including Bayley mental and psychomotor development indices and intelligence quotient. Results: The pooled estimate (random effects model) of mental development score standardised mean difference (SMD) was 0.30 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.15 to 0.46, P , 0.001; P , 0.001 for heterogeneity). Initial anaemia and iron-deficiency anaemia were significant explanatory variables for heterogeneity. The pooled estimate of Bayley Mental Development Index (weighted mean difference) in younger children (,27 months old) was 0.95 (95% CI 2 0.56 to 2.46, P ¼ 0.22; P ¼ 0.016 for heterogeneity). For intelligence quotient scores ($ 8 years age), the pooled SMD was 0.41 (95% CI 0.20 to 0.62, P , 0.001; P ¼ 0.07 for heterogeneity). There was no effect of iron supplementation on motor development score (SMD 0.09, 95% CI 20.08 to 0.26, P ¼ 0.28; P ¼ 0.028 for heterogeneity). Conclusions: Iron supplementation improves mental development score modestly. This effect is particularly apparent for intelligence tests above 7 years of age and in initially anaemic or iron-deficient anaemic subjects. There is no convincing evidence that iron treatment has an effect on mental development in children below 27 months of age or on motor development.

Objective To evaluate the effect of iron supplementation on the incidence of infections in children. Design Systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Data sources 28 randomised controlled trials (six unpublished and 22 published) on 7892 children. Interventions Oral or parenteral iron supplementation or fortified formula milk or cereals. Outcomes Incidence of all recorded infectious illnesses, and individual illnesses, including respiratory tract infection, diarrhoea, malaria, other infections, and prevalence of positive smear results for malaria. Results The pooled estimate (random effects model) of the incidence rate ratio (iron v placebo) was 1.02 (95% confidence interval 0.96 to 1.08, P=0.54; P < 0.0001 for heterogeneity). The incidence rate difference (iron minus placebo) for all recorded illnesses was 0.06 episodes/child year ( − 0.06 to 0.18, P=0.34; P < 0.0001 for heterogeneity). However, there was an increase in the risk of developing diarrhoea (incidence rate ratio 1.11, 1.01 to 1.23, P=0.04), but this would not have an overall important on public health (incidence rate difference 0.05 episodes/child year, -0.03 to 0.13; P=0.21). The occurrence of other illnesses and positive results on malaria smears (adjusted for positive smears at baseline) were not significantly affected by iron administration. On meta-regression, the statistical heterogeneity could not be explained by the variables studied. Conclusion Iron supplementation has no apparent harmful effect on the overall incidence of infectious illnesses in children, though it slightly increases the risk of developing diarrhoea.

Background More than 7.5 million children younger than age five living in low- and middle-income countries die every year. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed the integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) strategy to reduce mortality and morbidity and to improve quality of care by improving the delivery of a variety of curative and preventive medical and behavioral interventions at health facilities, at home, and in the community. Objectives To evaluate the effects of programs that implement the IMCI strategy in terms of death, nutritional status, quality of care, coverage with IMCI deliverables, and satisfaction of beneficiaries. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; 2015, Issue 3), including the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Specialised Register; MEDLINE; EMBASE, Ovid; the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EbscoHost; the Latin American Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), Virtual Health Library (VHL); the WHO Library & Information Networks for Knowledge Database (WHOLIS); the Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index, Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science; Population Information Online (POPLINE); the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP); and the Global Health, Ovid and Health Management, ProQuest database. We performed searches until 30 June 2015 and supplemented these by searching revised bibliographies and by contacting experts to identify ongoing and unpublished studies. Selection criteria We sought to include randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled before-after (CBA) studies with at least two intervention and two control sites evaluating the generic IMCI strategy or its adaptation in children younger than age five, and including at minimum efforts to improve health care worker skills for case management. We excluded studies in which IMCI was accompanied by other interventions including conditional cash transfers, food supplementation, and employment. The comparison group received usual health services without provision of IMCI. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently screened searches, selected trials, and extracted, analysed and tabulated data. We used inverse variance for cluster trials and an intracluster co-efficient of 0.01 when adjustment had not been made in the primary study. We used the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation Working Group) approach to assess the certainty of evidence. Main results Two cluster-randomised trials (India and Bangladesh) and two controlled before-after studies (Tanzania and India) met our inclusion criteria. Strategies included training of health care staff, management strengthening of health care systems (all four studies), and home visitin...

Multiple micronutrient supplementation may be associated with a marginal increase in fluid intelligence and academic performance in healthy schoolchildren but not with crystallized intelligence. More research is required, however, before public health recommendations can be given.