Affiliation:
1. From the Departments of Pediatrics and Clinical Pathology, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, and College of Human Development, Syracuse University Syracuse, New York
Abstract
In an effort to determine whether iron deficiency, in the absence of anemia (hemoglobin >11.0 g/dL), might produce alterations in behavioral development, four groups of nonanemic infants, 9 to 12 months of age, with varying degrees of iron deficiency were studied. Infants were classified as iron sufficient, iron depleted, or iron deficient based on measurements of serum ferritin concentration, erythrocyte protoporphyrin values, and the mean cell volume of erythrocytes. Subjects in each group were tested with the Bayley Mental Development Index, treated with parenteral iron, and retested seven days later. The administration of iron produced a significant increase in the Mental Development Index scores (+21.6 points) in the infants with iron deficiency but no significant change in the scores of infants with iron sufficiency (+6.2 points) or only iron depletion (+5.6 points). It is concluded that iron deficiency, even in the absence of anemia, results in biochemical alterations that impair behavior in infants.
Publisher
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Subject
Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
Cited by
17 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献