SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Neonatology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1458871
Incidence and Predictors of Mortality Among Low Birth Weight Neonates in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
Leweyehu Alemaw Mengstie1*
Wegayehu Zeneb1
Mohammed Tessema1
Worku Abemie1
Abatwoy Ayfokru Beshahured Abatwoy Ayfokru Beshahured Beshahured1
Yihenew Ayehu Dessie2
Mitiku Tefera1
Bekahegn Girma1- 1Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia
- 2Bule Hora University Teaching Hospital, Bule Hora, Oromia, Ethiopia
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: In Africa, the burden of low birth weight (LBW) neonatal mortality remains substantial, yet comprehensive evidence is lacking, with varied and inconclusive findings from primary studies. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the pooled incidence and predictors of LBW neonatal mortality in Africa.In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, African Journals Online, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Google for relevant studies. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale was used to assess study quality. Heterogeneity and publication bias were evaluated using the I² statistic and Egger"s test. A random-effects model was applied due to significant heterogeneity, with pooled incidence and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) calculated. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses explored sources of heterogeneity.Results: This meta-analysis included 28 studies involving 56,775 LBW neonates. The pooled incidence of LBW neonatal mortality in Africa was 33.1% per 100 person-years (95% CI:
Keywords: Incidence, predictors, Mortality, low birth weight, neonates, Africa, metaanalysis
Received: 04 Jul 2024; Accepted: 17 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mengstie, Zeneb, Tessema, Abemie, Beshahured, Dessie, Tefera and Girma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Leweyehu Alemaw Mengstie, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.