There is no convincing evidence that iron treatment of young children with IDA has an effect on psychomotor development or cognitive function within 30 days after commencement of therapy .
The effect of longer-term treatment remains unclear .
BACKGROUND Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia ( IDA ) are common in young children .
It has been suggested that the lack of iron may have deleterious effects on children 's psychomotor development and cognitive function .
To evaluate the benefits of iron therapy on psychomotor development and cognitive function in children with IDA , a Cochrane review was carried out in 2001 .
This is an up date of that review .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of iron therapy on psychomotor development and cognitive function in iron deficient anaemic children less than three years of age .
Reversal of developmental delays in iron-deficient anaemic infants treated with iron
Iron-deficient anaemic infants perform worse in tests of mental and motor development than do iron-sufficient infants of a comparable age . A r and omised , double-blind trial was done to monitor the effects of iron supplementation on performance in the Bayley scales of mental and motor development among 12 - 18-month-old infants in Indonesia . Iron-deficient anaemic infants ( n = 50 ) were assigned r and omly to receive dietary ferrous sulphate or placebo for 4 month . Similar treatment r and omisation was done among nonanaemic iron-deficient ( n = 29 ) and iron-sufficient ( n = 47 ) infants . Before intervention , the mean mental and motor scores of the iron-deficient anaemic infants were significantly ( p < 0.01 ) lower than those of the nonanaemic iron-deficient and iron-sufficient classes . After intervention , developmental delays were reversed among iron-deficient anaemic infants who had received iron but they remained the same among placebo-treated iron-deficient anaemic infants . Neither ferrous sulphate nor placebo had significant effects on the scores of the other two iron-status classes . The poor performance of 12 - 18-month-old iron-deficient anaemic infants in the Bayley scales of mental and motor development can be improved to the level of performance of iron-sufficient infants by treatment with ferrous sulphate
There is no convincing evidence that iron treatment of young children with IDA has an effect on psychomotor development or cognitive function within 30 days after commencement of therapy .
The effect of longer-term treatment remains unclear .
BACKGROUND Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia ( IDA ) are common in young children .
It has been suggested that the lack of iron may have deleterious effects on children 's psychomotor development and cognitive function .
To evaluate the benefits of iron therapy on psychomotor development and cognitive function in children with IDA , a Cochrane review was carried out in 2001 .
This is an up date of that review .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of iron therapy on psychomotor development and cognitive function in iron deficient anaemic children less than three years of age .