Long-Term Effects of Select Diarrheal Pathogens on Childhood Growth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This systematic review and meta-analysis investigate the long-term impact of Cryptosporidium spp., and Shigella spp., on childhood growth outcomes, measured by height-for-age Z scores (HAZ), weight-for-age Z scores (WAZ) and weight-for-height Z scores (WHZ). Cryptosporidium spp., infection was strongly associated with decreased HAZ (p < 0.001) and WHZ (p < 0.001), but not WAZ, with very high heterogeneity (I^2= 99.55% for HAZ and 99.20% for WHZ). Shigella spp., indicated a small but statistically negative effect only on HAZ (p = 0.0122) with moderate heterogeneity ( I^2= 45.78%) suggesting some variability across studies. These findings highlight the differences in pathogen-specific effects.