Consistency In Children Research Articles

Do Bayley-III Composite Scores at 18-22 Months Corrected Age Predict Full-Scale IQ at 6-7 Years in Children Born Extremely Preterm?

To determine the ability of the Bayley-III cognitive and language composite scores at 18-22months corrected age to predict WISC-IV Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) at 6-7years in infants born extremely preterm. Children in this study were part of the Neuroimaging and Neurodevelopmental Outcome cohort, a secondary study to the SUPPORT trial and born 240/7-276/7weeks gestational age. Bayley-III cognitive and language scores and WISC-IV FSIQ were compared with pairwise Pearson correlation coefficients and adjusted for medical and socioeconomic variables using linear mixed effect regression models. Bayley-III cognitive (r=0.33) and language scores (r=0.44) were mildly correlated with WISC-IV FSIQ score. Of the children with Bayley-III cognitive scores of <70, 67% also had FSIQ of <70. There was less consistency for children with Bayley-III scores in the 85-100 range; 43% had an FSIQ of <85 and 10% an FSIQ of <70. Among those with Bayley-III language scores >100, approximately 1 in 5 had an FSIQ of <85. A cut point of 92 for the cognitive composite score resulted in sensitivity (0.60), specificity (0.64). A cut point of 88 for the language composite score produced sensitivity (0.61), specificity (0.70). Findings indicate the Bayley-III cognitive and language scores correlate with later IQ, but may fail to predict delay or misclassify children who are not delayed at school age. The Bayley-III can be a useful tool to help identify children born extremely preterm who have below average cognitive scores and may be at the greatest risk for ongoing cognitive difficulties. Extended Follow-up at School Age for the SUPPORT Neuroimaging and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes (NEURO) Cohort: NCT00233324.

Understanding the role of eye movement consistency in face recognition and autism through integrating deep neural networks and hidden Markov models

Greater eyes-focused eye movement pattern during face recognition is associated with better performance in adults but not in children. We test the hypothesis that higher eye movement consistency across trials, instead of a greater eyes-focused pattern, predicts better performance in children since it reflects capacity in developing visual routines. We first simulated visual routine development through combining deep neural network and hidden Markov model that jointly learn perceptual representations and eye movement strategies for face recognition. The model accounted for the advantage of eyes-focused pattern in adults, and predicted that in children (partially trained models) consistency but not pattern of eye movements predicted recognition performance. This result was then verified with data from typically developing children. In addition, lower eye movement consistency in children was associated with autism diagnosis, particularly autistic traits in social skills. Thus, children’s face recognition involves visual routine development through social exposure, indexed by eye movement consistency.

Validation of the bodily expressive action stimulus test among Chinese adults and children

The bodily expressive action stimulus test (BEAST) is developed to provide a set of standardized emotional stimuli for experimental investigations of emotion and attention, and the consistency has been validated in adult populations abroad. However, the consistency of this test in the Chinese population is unclear. To this end, 42 images of each category of emotion (happiness, sadness, fear, and anger) were selected from 254 images of the original stimulus set to further examine the consistency of the BEAST in Chinese population. Thirty-one Chinese college students and 41 Chinese preschool children participated in this study. All of them were asked to complete an emotion recognition and judgment task. Results showed that adults had a high degree of consistency in rating these pictures, while the children's consistency was at a medium level. For adults, sadness was the easiest to recognize, followed by fear and anger, while happiness was the hardest to recognize. For children, fear was the easiest to recognize, anger and sadness were second, and happiness was also the hardest to recognize. At the same time, adults were more accurate in identifying happiness and sadness than children. For adults, they were more likely to confuse positive emotions with negative emotions. They tended to mistake sadness, fear, and anger for happiness. For children, they were more likely to identify sadness as fear and happiness. They also tended to recognize anger as fear. These results indicate that the recognition performance of BEAST images for Chinese and Western adults are roughly the same, however, in the same cultural context, the recognition performance of adults and children are very different, and generally the recognition accuracy rate of adults is higher than that of children.

Consistency of children's hemodynamic responses during spontaneous speech.

.SignificanceHemodynamic responses (HRs) are typically averaged across experimental sessions based on the assumption that brain activation is consistent over multiple trials. This may not be a safe assumption, especially in pediatric populations, due to unaccounted effects of inattention, fatigue, or habituation.AimThe purpose of this study was to quantify the consistency of the HR over speech and language brain regions during speech production in typically developing school-aged children.ApproachBrain activity over speech and language regions of interest (ROIs) was recorded with functional near-infrared spectroscopy during a picture description paradigm with 37 children (aged 7 to 12 years). We divided the 30 experimental trials, each 5 s long, into three segments of 10 trials each corresponding with early (trials 1 to 10), middle (trials 11 to 20), and late (trials 21 to 30) trials. We then compared oxygenated (HbO) and deoxygenated (HbR) hemoglobin concentrations averaged across each 10 trial segment to overall concentrations averaged across all 30 trials. We also compared differential hemoglobin (HbD) across ROIs.ResultsHbO and HbR averaged across all experimental trials most strongly correlated with HbO and HbR from early trials. HbD values from channels over most speech and language regions did not appreciably change throughout the experimental session. The exception was HbD values from channels over the dorsal inferior frontal gyrus (dIFG). This region showed significantly higher activation over the left hemisphere during the first segment of the experiment.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that brain activity from speech and language ROIs was relatively consistent over the experimental session. The exception was increased activation of left dIFG during earlier experimental trials. We suggest that researchers critically evaluate the consistency of HRs from different brain regions to determine the reliability of HRs recorded during experimental sessions. This step is instrumental in ensuring that uncontrolled effects do not mask patterns of task-related activation.

Stakeholder Participation in Growing Spirit of Saving for Children in Beji Timur, Depok

In line with the Indonesian money-saving campaign, community service activities were carried out to foster interest in money-saving among kindergarten students in Beji Timur, Depok. These activities had been carried out since the end of March and ended in June 2021 as the culmination of the theme “Ayo Menabung”(let's save money), with the target audience of Raudhatul Athfal Toufiqurrahman students. The community service partner was BRI Agroniaga Depok Branch which provided facilities for opening student saving accounts and sponsoring other educational activities. A total of 32 saving accounts had been realized, and in June 2021, the peak of the “Ayo Menabung” event was held in the form of the practice of money deposit in a bank. Each student has an account opened with an initial deposit of IDR.20,000, then in the practice of saving, each student was given IDR.200,000 to be deposited in their accounts. During the evaluation period, another IDR.30,000 was added, so that each student had a total saving of IDR.250,000. As a continuation, the children would maintain their savings account independently, facilitated through a pick-up service from the bank, supported by motivation from parents and teachers to keep the children's consistency in saving money. Because it was still in a pandemic situation, bank tellers or customer service staffs would come to school to serve the children practicing money deposit. Through this community service, the children got new knowledge about banking and the benefits of savings. In addition, it also provided financial knowledge to the parents and teachers. There was almost no significant problem in the implementation of the service activities, except for the constraints more related to the Covid-19 pandemic so that there was a necessary extra effort for activities to coordinate related parties. The commitment and participation of stakeholders in information dissemination and actualization of student money-saving practices can foster a culture of money-savings while the collaboration creates a mechanism to ensure sustainable money-saving habit among children.

The Effects of Manipulating Task Difficulty and Feedback Frequency on Children's Dart Throwing Accuracy and Consistency.

In the present study we investigated the effects of manipulating task difficulty (constant vs. progressive difficulty) and frequency of knowledge of results (KR) on the accuracy and consistency of children's performance of a novel fine motor coordination task (dart throwing). We assigned 69 right-handed physical education (PE) students (M age = 10.73, SD = 0.89 years) to progressive (PDG) or constant difficulty (CDG) groups. PDG and CDG were each split into three subgroups who received varying KR frequency (100%KR, 50%KR, and 33%KR), creating a total of six groups. We increased difficulty in the PDG by manipulating the distance to the target (2 m, 2.37 m, and 3.56 m), while distance to the target was constant for CDG throughout the experiment (2.37 m). We conducted performance assessments during familiarization (pre-test), acquisition (post-test), and retention (retention testing) learning phases under both normal condition (NC) and a time pressure condition (TPC). Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed a significant effect of difficulty manipulation on skill learning under both NC and TPC. Further analyses revealed that skill learning was enhanced by progressive difficulty manipulation. However, learning was not affected by KR frequency changes. Progressive difficulty practice enhanced both accuracy and consistency, specifically at retention testing. These results suggest that motor learning in children may be enhanced by practicing with progressive increases in difficulty. PE teachers are encouraged to gradually introduce difficulty levels in motor learning tasks that require high accuracy.

Early Childhood Psychological Development in Interacting with New Friends

The consistency of children's interactions has an impact on their subsequent social growth. It can be shown that children who avoid contact with their peers also exist; children who barely socialize with their friends, choose to be lonely, are reserved, and lack self-confidence. Meanwhile, children can develop the ability to facilitate and sustain social connections, as well as dispute resolution skills such as taking turns playing, negotiating, and even negotiation, by their partnerships with their peers. When engaging in these types of tasks, children often undergo a pattern of synchronization between their comprehension, execution, and desired outcome. Children may create bonds through this experience, and can offer a sense of comfort away from family members.

Assessing consistency in children’s and monkeys’ performance across computerized and manual detour problem tasks

The detour test is a widely used test in comparative psychology that assesses various cognitive abilities, including inhibitory control. The goal of this study was to assess the degree of consistency in the performance of human children and capuchin monkeys on a manual detour test and on a computerized equivalent. Because computerized testing is more common in comparative research, it is important to determine whether a computerized version of the detour problem can provide measures of general inhibition that align with measures obtained from the same subjects when given a manual version. We found that human children and capuchin monkeys approached both tasks very differently and also that there was no correlation between the manual and the computerized task within each species. This suggests caution is needed when considering one format or the other when the goal is to use a single task to provide a general measure of inhibitory control.

Effectiveness of a Probiotic for Functional Chronic Constipation: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Context: The metabolic effects of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 administration in the treatment of functional chronic constipation are unknown. Objectives: The purpose of this review is to investigate the function of L. reuteri DSM 17938 in bowel movements and stool consistency in children and adults diagnosed with functional chronic constipation. Methods: Five electronic databases were used to search for the English version of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) published between 2000 and 2018 that investigated the metabolic functions of 4–8 weeks of a dietary L. reuteri DSM 17938 intervention in children and adults diagnosed with functional chronic constipation. The risk of bias was evaluated in eligible studies, and a random-effects model was used to perform a meta-analysis for qualitative and quantitative analyses. Results: Five high-quality RCTs involving 737 participants were included in the review. L. reuteri DSM 17938 supplementation was effective in increasing bowel movements (mean difference = 1.12; 95% CI 0.85, 1.39, P &lt; 0.00001) in patients with functional chronic constipation. However, no significant differences in stool consistency from baseline were observed following L. reuteri DSM 17938 supplementation (0.98; 95% CI 0.66, 1.44, P = 0.90). Conclusions: There were significant differences in bowel movements between the experimental and placebo groups, and no significant differences in stool consistency. In addition, there were no adverse effects of the L. reuteri DSM 17938 treatment reported. These results demonstrate the beneficial effects of L. reuteri DSM 17938 in functional chronic constipation patients in comparison with placebo.

Development and measurement of psychometric properties of the Persian test of speech consistency in children with typical development

The current research pursues the study of developing the Persian test of speech consistency and investigating speech consistency in normally developing children in Iran. After developing the Persian test of speech consistency, the obtained speech samples of 317 participants (163 girls and 154 boys) were analyzed. This test of consistency includes 27 items. Experts’ consensus over the characteristics of the Persian test of speech consistency was above 85%. Different age groups had statistically significant differences for the mean scores of the variable responses (p < .001), consistent correct (p < .001), and consistent incorrect responses (p = .007) in the Persian test of speech consistency. Also, there was a high value for the inter-rater reliability (ICC = .88, p < .001) as well as the moderate value for the test-retest reliability (ICC = .89, p < .001). The Persian test of speech consistency is regarded as a reliable and valid scale for measuring the speech consistency in Persian-speaking children. Future studies are proposed to investigate the speech consistency in Persian-speaking children with various kinds of speech sound disorders.

P11 Evaluation of a Food and Children's Emotions (FACE) Picture Book and Tool for Improving Head Start Preschoolers’ Ability to Recognize Six Basic, Food-Related Emotions

Background Emotions likely play a role in children's food choice. Before understanding the association between children's emotions, food preferences, and food choice, tools must be developed to measure and improve a child's ability to recognize emotions. Objective To evaluate a Food and Children's Emotions (FACE) picture book and tool to improve preschoolers’ ability to recognize six basic, food-related emotions: happy, sad, fear, mad, feeling nothing, and disgust. Study Design, Settings, Participants Researchers developed a FACE picture book and tool, which asks children to match facial expressions of emotions with corresponding labels. Fifty two four-to-five-year-old preschoolers (28 (53.8%) Black/African American and 24 (46.2%) Hispanic) from Head Start schools in North Carolina were randomly assigned to the control or intervention group. All children completed three assessment periods (T0, T1, and T2); each assessment occurred 7-14 days after the previous one. The picture book was read to the intervention group just prior to the T1 assessment. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Descriptive statistics, such as counts and percentages, were used to describe gender and ethnicity for the sample. Data were analyzed using Cochran's Q test and McNemar's test (P Results Cochran's Q test detected significant differences in children's ability to recognize fear, feeling nothing, and disgust across the three assessments in the intervention group, but not the control group. McNemar's test indicated that the intervention significantly improved children's ability to recognize those three emotions from T0 to T1 and from T0 to T2, and indicated high consistency in children's ability to recognize those emotions. At T0, preschoolers were fairly adept at recognizing happy, sad, and mad, and no significant differences were detected in their ability to recognize those emotions in either group between assessments. Conclusion This study provided evidence that the FACE picture book and tool are effective, valid, and reliable at measuring preschoolers’ ability to recognize six emotions and improving their ability to recognize fear, feeling nothing, and disgust. Funding None.

Effect of Zinc Supplementation on the Frequency and Consistency of Stool in Children with Acute Diarrhea.

IntroductionAcute diarrhea in young children is a prevalent and distressing pediatric illness. The role of zinc therapy in the improvement of stool consistency and the shortening of the duration of diarrhea is still controversial. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of oral zinc supplementation in acute diarrhea.MethodsChildren of age 28 days till five years presenting in the outpatient department with acute diarrhea were included. Oral zinc supplementation was included in the anti-diarrheal regime of half of the children (n=50); the other half (n=50) were not given zinc. Mean body weight and the frequency and consistency of stool were noted for both groups on Days 1 and 3.ResultsThe zinc group showed a significantly reduced frequency of diarrheal episodes on the third day of intervention (p<.00001). More children in the zinc group had soft to firm stool consistency than in the non-zinc group (p=.01).ConclusionOral zinc supplementation has a promising role in reducing the duration of diarrhea and improving stool consistency in children with acute diarrhea. Oral zinc supplementation should be made a mandatory part of the anti-diarrheal regime for Pakistani children.

Madu sebagai Terapi Komplementer untuk Anak dengan Diare Akut

Abstrak Diare merupakan suatu penyakit endemis di Indonesia yang berpotensi menjadi Kejadian Luar Biasa (KLB) yang sering disertai dengan kematian. Penanganan diare selain menggunakan teknik farmakoterapi terdapat juga terapi komplementer yang dapat digunakan yaitu dengan memberikan madu.. Manfaat madu untuk mengatasi diare karena efek antibakterinya dan kandungan nutrisinya yang mudah dicerna. Madu juga membantu dalam penggantian cairan tubuh yang hilang akibat diare. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk menganalisis pengaruh madu terhadap diare akut pada anak balita. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah quasi eksperimental dengan Pretest and posttest non equivalent control group design. Hipotesis penelitian ini adalah terdapat pengeruh madu terhadap frekuensi buang air besar (BAB) dan karakteristik feses pada anak balita dengan diare akut.. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan perbedaan yang signifikan frekuensi BAB dan konsistensi feses sebelum dan sesudah pemberian madu (p value = 0,001) sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa madu berpengaruh terhadap frekuensi BAB dan konsistensi feses pada anak balita dengan diare akut.

Efficacy of gelatin tannate for acute diarrhea in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

To investigate by meta-analysis the efficacy of gelatin tannate (GT), a mucosal barrier protector, in children with acute gastroenteritis. A comprehensive literature search was conducted. Studies were selected according to PICO: Participants: children aged 0-12 years with acute diarrhea; Intervention: GT; Comparison: oral rehydration solution and/or placebo; Outcomes: diarrhea-related outcomes. Three published randomized controlled trials were identified of pediatric diarrhea treated with GT (n=203) or control (n=204). GT significantly (p<0.01) reduced stool frequency at 12 h in two randomized controlled trials. A significant treatment effect (risk ratio=0.74; p<0.01) in favor of GT was found for the exploratory composite outcome of 'diarrhea or liquid stools at 24h' in three studies. Risk ratios in a single study which reported the percentage of patients with liquid stools at 12, 24 and 48 h favored GT at all time points. No significant differences were found between GT and control for patients with diarrhea at 12 or 24h or for duration of diarrhea. GT improved stool frequency and stool consistency in children with acute diarrhea, although further well-controlled studies would be useful to confirm a beneficial treatment effect.

Power of Two: The Impact of 2 Years of High Quality Teacher Child Interactions

ABSTRACTThe current study focuses on the cumulative effect on children’s early learning outcomes of the quality of teacher–child interactions over multiple years during early childhood. Using propensity score matching to minimize selection bias, we compared the academic outcomes of children who experienced consistently high-quality or consistently low-quality teacher–child interactions, as defined by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, during prekindergarten and kindergarten. Research Findings: Results indicated statistically significant differences in directly assessed language and literacy skills between children who experienced consistently high- and consistently low-quality instructional support. This was true after just 1 year, and gains were even greater for children who experienced high levels of instructional support over 2 years. Emotional support and classroom organization were not associated with children’s academic learning. Practice or Policy: Although children experience cumulative benefits in response to high-quality instructional supports over 2 years, relatively few children have access to such opportunities. We discuss these results in light of limited consistency in children’s experiences over the early school years and the presence of selection bias.

The disclosure of alleged child sexual abuse: an investigation of criminal court transcripts from Scotland

ABSTRACTThis study systematically assessed children’s disclosure processes and lawyers’ questioning about children’s disclosures in the courtroom. We analysed transcripts of 72 trials in which 5- to 17-year-old children testified as alleged victims of sexual abuse and found that children typically delayed disclosing abuse for over 6 months, with the length of delay greater when the alleged perpetrator-victim relationships were closer. When questioning children about disclosure, prosecutors used more directive and option-posing questions, and sought to establish the plausibility, credibility, reliability, and consistency of children’s disclosures. On the other hand, defence lawyers used more suggestive questions than prosecutors, and sought to undermine children’s testimony by accusing them of lying or being coached. Children’s responses to questions about their disclosure differed depending on who was questioning them: notably, children contradicted themselves more during cross-examinations than direct-examinations. Both prosecutors and defence lawyers tended to ask developmentally ‘risky’ questions, illustrating the difficulties that may arise when attempting to achieve a balance between securing accurate testimony and protecting the right of defendants to challenge the evidence against them.

Retention in Medical Care Among Insured Children with Diagnosed HIV Infection - United States, 2010-2014.

In 2014, an estimated 2,477 children aged <13 years were living with diagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the United States (1). Nationally, little is known about how well children with a diagnosis of HIV infection are retained in medical care. CDC analyzed insurance claims data to evaluate retention in medical care for children in the United States with a diagnosis of HIV infection. Data sources were the 2010-2014 MarketScan Multi-State Medicaid and MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters databases. Children aged <13 years with a diagnosis of HIV infection in 2010 were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnostic billing codes for HIV or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), resulting in Medicaid and commercial claims cohorts of 163 and 129 children, respectively. Data for each child were evaluated during a 36-month study period, counted from the date of the first claim containing an ICD-9-CM code for HIV or AIDS. Each child's consistency of medical care was assessed by evaluating the frequency of medical visits during the first 24 months of the study period to see if the frequency of visits met the definition of retention in care. Frequency of medical visits was then assessed during an additional 12-month follow-up period to evaluate differences in medical care consistency between children who were retained or not retained in care during the initial 24-month period. During months 0-24, 60% of the Medicaid cohort and 69% of the commercial claims cohort were retained in care, among whom 93% (Medicaid) and 85% (commercial claims) were in care during months 25-36. To identify areas for additional public health action, further evaluation of the objectives for national medical care for children with diagnosed HIV infection is indicated.

Assessing Children’s Report of Stool Consistency: Agreement Between the Pediatric Rome III Questionnaire and the Bristol Stool Scale

To assess the agreement between the Questionnaire on Pediatric Gastrointestinal Symptoms-Rome III (QPGS-RIII) and the Bristol Stool Scale (BSS) in evaluating stool consistency and the diagnosis of functional constipation in children. Children aged 8-18 years were asked to describe their stool consistency in the previous month according to the QPGS-RIII and the BSS. Stool consistency according to both instruments was categorized into 3 categories: "hard," "normal," and "liquid." The children's reported stool consistency using the QPGS-RIII and the BSS were compared, and the intrarater agreement between the 2 instruments was measured using the Cohen kappa coefficient (κ). The diagnosis of functional constipation was based on the Rome III criteria, incorporating the assessment of stool consistency according to the QPGS-RIII and the BSS. A total of 1835 children were included. Only slight agreement existed between the QPGS-RIII and the BSS for assessing stool consistency (κ = .046; P = .022). Significantly more children reported hard stools on the BSS compared to the QPGS-RIII (18.0% vs 7.1%; P = .000). The prevalence of functional constipation was 8.6% using the QPGS-RIII and 9.3% using the BSS (P = .134). Only slight agreement exists between the QPGS-RIII and the BSS in the evaluation of stool consistency in children. Better instruments are needed to assess the consistency of stools with a high degree of reliability, both in research and in the clinical setting.

Challenging the Credibility of Alleged Victims of Child Sexual Abuse in Scottish Courts.

This study examined the effects of credibility-challenging questions (n = 2,729) on 62 5- to 17-year-olds' testimony in child sexual abuse cases in Scotland by categorizing the type, source, and content of the credibility-challenging questions defense lawyers asked and assessing how children responded. Credibility-challenging questions comprised 14.9% of all questions asked during cross-examination. Of defense lawyers' credibility-challenging questions, 77.8% focused generally on children's honesty, whereas the remainder referred to specific inconsistencies in the children's testimony. Children resisted credibility challenges 54% of the time, significantly more often than they provided compliant responses (26.8%). The tendency to resist was significantly lower for questions focused on specific rather than general inconsistencies, and peripheral rather than central content. Overall, children resisted credibility challenges more often when the aim and content of the question could be understood easily. As this was a field study, the accuracy of children's responses could not be assessed. The findings suggest that credibility-challenging questions that place unrealistic demands on children's memory capacities (e.g., questions focused on peripheral content or highly specific details) occur frequently, and that juries should be made aware of the disproportionate effects of such questioning on the consistency of children's testimony.

Positive Effect of Probiotics on Constipation in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Six Randomized Controlled Trials.

Context: Constipation in children is a prevalent, burdensome, and psychologically important pediatric issue, the treatment of which remains a global challenge. The use of probiotics has been reported for management of the gastrointestinal microbiota.Objective: This study reviewed the existing literatures of 6 Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) to ascertain some baseline understanding and available information for the effects of probiotics on stool frequency and consistency in children with constipation.Data Sources: PubMed, Springer, Elsevier Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Ovid (Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO), Orbis, and Web of Science from the earliest record in each database to 15 September, 2016.Study selection: Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials that compared the effect of probiotics interventions to any control intervention on stool frequency and consistency.Data Extraction: Studies were identified by searching electronic databases. The meta-analysis was performed by Review Manager 5.3 software using a randomized model.Results: Six studies were identified. The use of probiotics significantly increased the stool frequency [mean difference (MD), 0.73; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.14–1.31; P = 0.02]. Subgroup assessment showed a significantly increased stool frequency in Asian patients (MD, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.33–2.02; P = 0.006), but no significant difference in stool consistency (MD, −0.07; 95% CI, −0.21–0.06; P = 0.27).Limitations: Only six RCTs met the criteria and were included. Each RCT in this study was performed in a different country, and some of the included studies had a small sample size, which might have influenced the reliability and validity of the conclusions.Conclusion: The present study shows that probiotics increase stool frequency and have beneficial effects in Asian children. However, caution is needed when interpreting these outcomes because of the existence of heterogeneity. Evidence from larger samples and more adequately powered RCTs with results obtained by standardized measurements are necessary to determine which species and dosage of probiotics and what length of treatment are most efficacious for constipation in children.