Iron deficiency and behavior

Abstract

The literature bearing on the behavioral correlates of sideropenia in animals and man is reviewed. There is evidence to support the contention that sideropenia, per se, is causally related to the subjective complaints of the iron-deficient and/or anemic individual. And, although important biochemical pathways involving electron transport, catecholamine catabolism, and porphyrin synthesis have been shown to be deranged in iron-deficient animals and human beings, the role of these alterations in any putative behavioral aberration is conjectural at present. Given the high prevalence of iron deficiency in the world's population, these issues should be addressed by appropriate biochemical and psychologic studies in animals and human beings.