Impact of iron supplementation on cognitive functions in preschool and school-aged children: the Indian experience

Article Abstract:

Iron deficiency is a common health problem among children living in India. Approximately 60 percent of children under age three years and 44 percent between the ages of three and five years have low hemoglobin levels. In iron deficiency, the hemoglobin concentration in red blood cells is reduced, which prevents delivery of adequate amounts of oxygen to body tissues. Previous research has suggested that iron deficiency may cause children to perform poorly on cognitive or mental tests. The authors report results from four studies of iron supplementation using elemental iron in children of different ages. The first study found improvement on cognitive tests for some subjects, following supplementation with elemental iron and folic acid. Folic acid is a vitamin that is necessary in iron metabolism; deficiency of folic acid can contribute to the development of some types of anemia. Of the 94 children aged five to eight, only the seven- and eight-year-olds responded to the supplements. The second study demonstrated increased cognitive scores in five-and six-year-old anemic boys following elemental iron and folic acid therapy. Specific areas that improved included verbal, memory, and problem-solving skills. In the third study, 48 boys aged eight to 15 years were given elemental iron supplements of two different dosages; the higher dosage was apparently more effective in causing the test scores to increase. Approximately 75 percent of the boys were iron-deficient. The fourth study included 163 anemic girls aged eight to 15 years. Iron supplementation for eight months apparently produced significant improvement in cognitive test scores.

Testing, Drug therapy, India, Iron, Iron (Metal), Cognition disorders, Cognitive disorders

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Iron deficiency and educational achievement in Thailand

Article Abstract:

Research on infants and children suggests that iron deficiency (ID) may have adverse effects on cognitive or mental and behavioral development. ID reduces the hemoglobin in red blood cells, which prevents delivery of adequate amounts of oxygen to body tissues. While some researchers expected that ID would only affect behavior in young children if the deficiency occurred when the brain was still growing, there is evidence that older, school-aged children are susceptible to the cognitive effects of ID as well. This large study, conducted in Thailand, evaluated the impact of iron therapy with ferrous sulfate on the IQ or intelligence quotient and learning test scores of 1,358 children aged nine to 11 years. Some children received ferrous sulfate while others received placebos, inactive sugar pills. After the treatments, the children were classified as either iron replete with normal levels of iron, iron depleted with low iron levels or iron-deficient anemic with severe iron deficiency. While the authors found that higher iron levels were associated with higher IQ and language test scores, they did not obtain evidence that the association was causal. Thus they could not conclude that ID caused lower language and intelligence scores. The evidence does suggest that school-age children with iron deficiency anemia are at an educational disadvantage.

Evaluation, Complications and side effects, Thailand, Iron compounds, Learning, Psychology of, Learning theory (Psychology), Ferrous sulfate, Nutrition disorders in children

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