Does Deworming Improve Growth and School Performance in Children?
2009
Deworming and Development: Asking the Right Questions
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Engels Dirk, Savioli Lorenzo
Primary Institution: World Health Organization
Hypothesis
Does deworming improve growth and school performance in children?
Conclusion
The updated review on deworming does not significantly enhance the value of the original systematic review.
Supporting Evidence
- The updated review includes more recent trials but does not significantly change the conclusions.
- Another extensive review published earlier presents more conclusive evidence in favor of systematic deworming.
- The WHO promotes preventive chemotherapy as a public health tool for helminth infections.
Takeaway
This study looks at whether giving deworming medicine helps kids grow better and do better in school, but the authors think the new findings aren't much better than the old ones.
Potential Biases
The clinical epidemiological approach may lead to fallacies in public health and policymaking.
Limitations
The updated review is limited in scope and does not provide substantially more value than the original review.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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