Prevalence of Malnutrition in Children With Congenital Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objective To evaluate the global prevalence of malnutrition in children with congenital heart disease (CHD). Study design A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed. Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Wanfang Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and China Biology Medicine disc databases were searched for studies published through April 2021. Random-effect model meta-analyses were performed to derive the pooled the prevalence of pre-operative underweight, stunting, and wasting in CHD children. Time-trend analyses of post-operative malnutrition prevalence were undertaken. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted to explore sources of heterogeneity. Egger’s test and funnel plots were used to explore public bias. Results A total 39 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled estimates of pre-operative malnutrition in children with CHD were 27.4% (95% CI: 21.7-34.0) for underweight, 24.4% (95% CI: 19.5-30.0) for stunting, and 24.8% (95% CI: 19.3-31.3) for wasting. Catch-up growth was found in the post-operative period among some children. Different continents were identified as heterogeneity moderators by subgroup analyses. Conclusions Children with CHD have a high prevalence of pre-operative malnutrition and some show catch-up growth post-operatively. These data can be used as benchmarks in efforts to improve the nutritional status of children with CHD.