ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 6 (UPI) -- Teens who suffered iron deficiency as infants are likely to score lower on cognitive and motor tests, a University of Michigan study shows.
The lower scores occur even if the iron deficiency was identified and treated infancy, the researches said.
Betsy Lozoff, who has studied iron deficiency for nearly three decades, followed Costa Rican children who were diagnosed with severe, chronic iron deficiency when they were 12-23 months old and were treated with iron supplements.
The university reported she and her collaborators examined 191 children in working- to middle-class families at 5 years, 11-14 years and again at 15-17, and found the iron-deficient babies grew up to lag their peers in both motor and mental measures.
Children who had good iron status as babies showed better motor skills than those who had been iron deficient, Lozoff said. That gap remained throughout childhood and adolescence. "There is no evidence of catch up."
Even worse were the cognitive measures. Children who had previously suffered iron deficiency not only lagged behind their peers, but the difference actually increased over time.
