Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Feb 15;8(1):14.
doi: 10.1186/s40795-022-00505-y.

Child linear growth trajectories during the first three years of life in relation to infant iron status: a prospective cohort study in rural Vietnam

Sarah Hanieh #  1 , Sabine Braat #  2   3 , Thach D Tran  4   5 , Tran T Ha  5 , Julie A Simpson  3 , Tran Tuan  5 , Jane Fisher  4 , Beverley-Ann Biggs  2   6
Affiliations

Child linear growth trajectories during the first three years of life in relation to infant iron status: a prospective cohort study in rural Vietnam

Sarah Hanieh et al. BMC Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: Early childhood growth patterns have long-term consequences for health and disease. Little is known about the interplay between growth and iron status during childhood. We explored the interplay between linear growth and iron status during early childhood, by assessing child growth trajectories between 6 and 36 months (m) of age in relation to infant iron status at 6 months of age.

Methods: A cohort study of infants born to women who had previously participated in a cluster randomized controlled trial of antenatal micronutrient supplementation, conducted in rural Vietnam. The relationship between child linear growth trajectories and infant iron status (ferritin concentration) was examined using latent growth curve modeling. Primary outcomes were height for age z scores (HAZ) and growth trajectory between 6 and 36 m of age.

Results: A total of 1112 infants were included in the study. Mean [SD] HAZ scores decreased over time from -0·58 [0·94] at 6 m, to -0·97 [0·99] at 18 m, to -1·14 [0·89] at 36 m of age. There was a steep linear decline in the HAZ scores between 6 and 18 m of age, followed by a slower linear decline from 18 to 36 m of age. Ferritin concentration at 6 m of age was inversely associated with HAZ score at 6 m of age (-0·145, 95% CI [-0.189, -0.101]). There was no association between infant ferritin at 6 m of age and child growth trajectory between 6 and 36 m of age.

Conclusions: Iron status at six months of age did not influence a child's later linear growth trajectory in this cohort of rural Vietnamese children. Longitudinal studies with repeated ferritin and height measurements are required to better delineate this relationship and inform public health interventions.

Keywords: Child; Child growth; Iron; Iron status; Vietnam.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of the infant/child’s participation during 30-months of follow-up. Height for age z-score is considered valid if the data is collected within ± 2·5m visit window
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Individual trajectories, observed mean trend in HAZ scores and stunting prevalence between 6 and 36 months of age (N = 1112). A and B Solid black line represents the mean pattern 6–36 months. B-D HAZ = height-for-age z. D Ferritin concentration tertile at 6 months: 1 ( < 22 ug/L (low)), 2 ( [22, 44] ug/L (mid)), 3 (> 44 ug/L (high))
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Regnault N, Gillman MW. Importance of characterizing growth trajectories. Ann Nutr Metab. 2014;65(2–3):110–113. doi: 10.1159/000365893. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abbaspour N, Hurrell R, Kelishadi R. Review on iron and its importance for human health. J Res Med Sci. 2014;19(2):164–174. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rao R, Georgieff MK. Iron in fetal and neonatal nutrition. Semin Fetal Neonatal Med. 2007;12(1):54–63. doi: 10.1016/j.siny.2006.10.007. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sania A, Sudfeld CR, Danaei G, Fink G, McCoy DC, Zhu Z, Fawzi MCS, Akman M, Arifeen SE, Barros AJD, et al. Early life risk factors of motor, cognitive and language development: a pooled analysis of studies from low/middle-income countries. BMJ Open. 2019;9(10):e026449. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026449. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hanieh S, Ha TT, Simpson JA, Casey GJ, Khuong NC, Thoang DD, Thuy TT, Pasricha SR, Tran TD, Tuan T, et al. The effect of intermittent antenatal iron supplementation on maternal and infant outcomes in rural Viet Nam: a cluster randomised trial. PLoS Med. 2013;10(6):e1001470. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001470. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources