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[Prevalence of iron deficiency in healthy 12-month-old infants]
1Servicio de Pediatría, Hospital Virgen del Camino, Servicio Navaroo de Salud/Osasunbidea, Pamplona, Spain. tduratra@cfnavarra.es
Insights
Iron deficiency affects 9.6% of infants, often linked to inadequate feeding. Screening is recommended for infants with risk factors or poor diets to prevent adverse effects.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Hematology
- Public Health
Context:
- Iron deficiency is a widespread nutritional issue in infants in industrialized nations.
- Both immediate and lasting negative health consequences are well-documented.
Purpose:
- To determine the prevalence of iron deficiency in infants at 12 months of age.
- To explore how dietary habits, growth patterns, and other elements impact infant iron status.
Summary:
- A study of 94 healthy infants revealed a 9.6% prevalence of iron deficiency and 4.3% of iron deficiency anemia at 12 months.
- Inadequate feeding practices, such as prolonged breastfeeding with delayed complementary foods or unfortified formula, were associated with iron deficiency.
- Weight gain in the first year positively correlated with hemoglobin and serum ferritin levels.
Impact:
- Identifies specific feeding practices linked to infant iron deficiency.
- Suggests targeted screening for infants with risk factors or suboptimal diets.
- Highlights the importance of appropriate infant nutrition for optimal iron status and growth.
Background:
Iron deficiency is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency among infants in industrialized countries. There is ample documentation of both short- and long-term adverse effects of iron deficiency.
Objective:
To study the prevalence of iron deficiency in 12-month-old infants and to investigate the influence of several factors (dietary, growth, etc.) on iron status.
Material And Methods:
A random sample of 94 healthy infants from a basic health district was studied. Maternal and perinatal variables, dietary intake and anthropometry were assessed at regular intervals from birth to the age of 12 months. Hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, transferrin saturation and serum ferritin were also evaluated.
Results:
The prevalence of iron deficiency was 9.6 % and that of iron deficiency anemia was 4.3 %. Of the nine infants with iron deficiency, four had been breast-fed for more than 6 months with late introduction of complementary foods and another had not been fed an iron-fortified formula while the 85 children without iron deficiency had received an appropriate diet (p < 0.05). Weight increase in the first year of life was significantly and positively correlated with hemoglobin and serum ferritin.
Conclusions:
Iron deficiency is relatively common in 12-month-old-infants but is limited to groups with inadequate feeding practices. Iron deficiency screening should be performed only in children with risk factors and/or inadequate diets.
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