Abstract
Pooled data analysis in the field of maternal and child nutrition rarely incorporates data from low- and middle-income countries and existing studies lack a description of the methods used to harmonize the data and to assess heterogeneity. We describe the creation of the Brazilian Maternal and Child Nutrition Consortium dataset, from multiple pooled longitudinal studies, having gestational weight gain (GWG) as an example. Investigators of the eligible studies published from 1990 to 2018 were invited to participate. We conducted consistency analysis, identified outliers, and assessed heterogeneity for GWG. Outliers identification considered the longitudinal nature of the data. Heterogeneity was performed adjusting multilevel models. We identified 68 studies and invited 59 for this initiative. Data from 29 studies were received, 21 were retained for analysis, resulting in a final sample of 17,344 women with 72,616 weight measurements. Fewer than 1% of all weight measurements were flagged as outliers. Women with pre-pregnancy obesity had lower values for GWG throughout pregnancy. GWG, birth length and weight were similar across the studies and remarkably similar to a Brazilian nationwide study. Pooled data analyses can increase the potential of addressing important questions regarding maternal and child health, especially in countries where research investment is limited.
Highlights
Pooled data analysis in the field of maternal and child nutrition rarely incorporates data from low- and middle-income countries and existing studies lack a description of the methods used to harmonize the data and to assess heterogeneity
We describe the creation of the Brazilian Maternal and Child Nutrition Consortium (BMCNC) dataset derived from multiple pooled and harmonized Brazilian longitudinal studies, describe the characteristics of the study populations included in the consortium, and describe the methods applied for the harmonization of the data in detail, using the example of gestational weight gain (GWG)
GWG differed according to maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and women with obesity presented lower values at all time points, followed by overweight, normal weight and underweight women
Summary
Pooled data analysis in the field of maternal and child nutrition rarely incorporates data from low- and middle-income countries and existing studies lack a description of the methods used to harmonize the data and to assess heterogeneity. We describe the creation of the Brazilian Maternal and Child Nutrition Consortium dataset, from multiple pooled longitudinal studies, having gestational weight gain (GWG) as an example. In the field of maternal and child nutrition, well-known international collaborations have been established and have led to productive results[9,10] These studies often lack a description of the statistical methods used to harmonize datasets as well as details on how heterogeneity has been assessed. We describe the creation of the BMCNC dataset derived from multiple pooled and harmonized Brazilian longitudinal studies, describe the characteristics of the study populations included in the consortium, and describe the methods applied for the harmonization of the data in detail, using the example of GWG
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