Iron supplements can protect underweight babies from the risk of developing many behavioral problems including ADHD, a new study from Sweden says.
In the United States, about one in every 12 babies is born with a low birth weight and it is one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality or death before 28 days of age in the country. A birth weight less than 2,500 grams (five pounds and eight ounces) is considered to be low. Low birth weight of children has been a concern among parents, as underweight babies are more likely to experience learning problems, intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy and vision/hearing loss.
Iron is crucial for the healthy growth of a child. According to health experts, children born with low birth weight are at a higher risk of iron deficiency and should be provided with iron supplements. An iron deficiency can affect the normal growth of a child and interfere with learning abilities and harm the immune system.
For the current study, a team of researchers from Umea University in Sweden included 285 marginally low birth weight infants. These babies received iron supplements for five months.
When the children reached age three, researchers measured their intelligence and behavior. IQ of the participants was compared with 95 children born with a normal weight. All the participants had similar IQ levels.
"I think this further solidifies the evidence that it's a very good idea to give these (marginally low birth-weight) children iron supplements," Dr. Magnus Domellof, from Umea University, who was involved in the study, told Reuters.
However, a significant number of low birth weight babies (12.7 percent) who didn't receive iron supplements after birth displayed some behavior problems.
"The issue with these marginally low birth-weight infants is, people really haven't paid a lot of attention to them, but the evidence is accumulating that they are at risk for behavioral problems and less than ideal cognitive function," Reuters quoted Dr. Betsy Lozoff, who studies the effects of iron deficiency in infants at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, as saying.
Findings of the study have been published in Pediatrics.
