Findings on the relations of maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy and risk of preterm birth and offspring birth size remain inconclusive. We aimed to systematically review and quantify these associations. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, and CINAHL up to December 2017. Three authors independently conducted a literature search, study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. Summary effect sizes were calculated with random effects models and studies were summarized narratively if results could not be pooled. We included 36 studies and pooled results from 25 observational studies (167,507 participants). Two common dietary patterns—“healthy” and “unhealthy”—were identified. Healthy dietary patterns—characterized by high intakes of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, low-fat dairy, and lean protein foods—were associated with lower risk of preterm birth (OR for top compared with bottom tertile: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.68, 0.91; I² = 32%) and a weak trend towards a lower risk of small-for-gestational-age (OR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.73, 1.01; I² = 34%). Only statistically data-driven healthy dietary patterns, and not dietary index-based patterns, were associated with higher birth weight (mean difference: 67 g; 95% CI: 37, 96 g; I² = 75%). Unhealthy dietary patterns—characterized by high intakes of refined grains, processed meat, and foods high in saturated fat or sugar—were associated with lower birth weight (mean difference: −40 g; 95% CI: −61, −20 g; I² = 0%) and a trend towards a higher risk of preterm birth (OR: 1.17; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.39; I² = 76%). Data from observational studies indicate that greater adherence to healthy dietary patterns during pregnancy is significantly related to lower risk of preterm birth. No consistent associations with birth weight and small- or large-for-gestational-age were observed.

Essence of chicken (EC) is a dietary supplement with potential benefits on one’s cognitive performance. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the effects of consuming EC on cognitive function, applying extensively represented domains. Six databases were systematically searched to yield 1760 articles. These articles were independently screened to obtain 8 eligible articles with a pooled population of 794 subjects which is more than twice the population size considered in the previous meta-analyses. Largely, favorable effects on cognitive function were observed following daily EC intake, specifically in the working memory domain (standardized mean difference: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.46), one of the core components in executive function which showed statistically significant results. Furthermore, the observed results were also robust to sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses. This suggests that when consumed daily, EC may improve the mental processing aspect of cognitive function amongst the healthy population.