Relationship between prematurity and difficulties in the transition of food consistency in childhood: a systematic review.

Purpose: To systematically review the literature regarding the impact of prematurity on the transition of food consistencies in infants during the introduction of complementary feeding.

Research strategies: Searches were conducted in the EMBASE, Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), LIVIVO, PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, Google Scholar; for gray literature, searches were conducted on Open Gray, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses databases, from August 10, 2020, onwards.

Selection criteria: "PECOS" was selected to determine inclusion criteria: Population (P): Infants; Exposure (E): Prematurity; Comparison (C): Full-term newborns; Outcomes (O): Progression of food consistencies in premature newborns with or without comparison; Study design (S): Cohort study, Case-control; Cross-sectional.

Data analysis: The methodological quality of the selected observational studies was assessed using the Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (MASTARI).

Results: A total of 3,310 articles were found, of which nine were selected for qualitative synthesis. Among the selected studies, a relationship between invasive oral interventions and feeding difficulties was observed for all assessed skills, with feeding difficulties being more frequent in infants with lower gestational age.

Conclusion: Most studies found no significant relationship between prematurity and difficulties in the progression of food consistencies during the introduction of complementary feeding; only three studies demonstrated such a relationship.