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. 2004 Dec;24(12):757-62.
doi: 10.1038/sj.jp.7211178.

Iron status and neurobehavioral development of premature infants

Rinat Armony-Sivan  1 , Arthur I Eidelman, Amos Lanir, Devora Sredni, Shlomo Yehuda
Affiliations

Iron status and neurobehavioral development of premature infants

Rinat Armony-Sivan et al. J Perinatol. 2004 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the relation between iron status and neurobehavioral development in premature infants.

Study design: Infants born before 34 weeks postmenstrual age and who were medically stable were studied. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin < or =10 g/Dl and low iron stores as a serum ferritin concentration < or =75 microg/l. The infants were classified as anemic with low ferritin (Group 1; n=18), anemic with normal ferritin (Group 2; n=14), and nonanemic with normal ferritin (Group 3; n=21). A total of 18 reflexes were behaviorally evaluated at 37 weeks postmenstrual age and "reflex scores" were compared between the groups. Higher scores reflect a greater percentage of abnormal reflexes.

Results: Infants in group 1 (anemia/low ferritin) had a significantly higher reflex score (51.45+/-18.32%) than infants in Group 3 (38.32+/-17.75%). Group 2 had an intermediate score (45.40+/-21.70%), but not different from the other two groups.

Conclusion: These data indicate that low iron status, both measured by anemia and ferritin levels, is related to poorer neurobehavioral status in premature infants.

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