Effect of mild iron deficiency on infant mental development scores
1983
Walter, Tomas | Kovalskys, Juana | Stekel, Abraham
Extract: To evaluate the effects of short-term iron therapy on developmental test scores of infants with varying stages of iron deficiency, 37 infants (all 15 months of age) were tested with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development before and 11 days after beginning a trial of orally administered iron therapy. The infants were separated into 3 groups according to iron status: 12 controls, with normal iron nutrition; 10 with mild anemia (i.e., hemoglobin (Hb): 8.5-11.0 gm/dl); and 15 with iron deficiency without anemia (i.e., Hb at or above 11.0 gm/dl, but having at least 1 abnormal biochemical measure of iron nutrition (transferrin saturation, free erythrocyte protoporphyrin, or serum ferritin). The Mental Development Index was significantly lower in the anemic infants before treatment as compared with that of normal controls. Improvement with iron therapy also was significant in those with anemia, and in nonanemic patients with 2 or more biochemical indicators of iron deficiency. The rise in Mental Development Index was associated with improvement in attention span and cooperativeness. These findings suggest that mild iron deficiency has an effect on infant behavior that is rapidly reversible with iron therapy. (author/wz)
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