Lozoff B, Brittenham G M
Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio.
Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 1987 Sep;1(3):449-64.
This review has examined recent evidence from human studies that iron deficiency adversely affects behavior by impairing cognitive function, producing noncognitive disturbances, and limiting activity and work capacity. The body of research taken as a whole provides increasingly persuasive arguments for intensifying efforts to prevent and treat iron deficiency anemia. Cognitive Function. There is reasonably good evidence that mental and motor developmental test scores are lowered among infants with iron deficiency anemia. Although the research on cognitive function in iron-deficient older children and adults is sparse and diverse, it suggests that there may be alterations in attentional processes associated with iron deficiency. Iron therapy has not yet been shown effective in completely correcting the observed disturbances. Although some aspects of cognitive function seem to change with iron therapy, lower developmental, IQ, and achievement test scores have still been noted after treatment. Noncognitive Disturbances. A variety of noncognitive alterations during infant developmental testing has also been observed, including failure to respond to test stimuli, short attention span, unhappiness, increased fearfulness, withdrawal from the examiner, and increased body tension. Exploratory analyses suggest that such behavioral abnormalities may account for poor developmental test performance in infants with iron deficiency anemia. These studies indicate the fruitfulness of examining noncognitive aspects of behavior, such as affect and activity, in addition to specific cognitive processes. Activity and Work Capacity. There has been a steady accumulation of evidence that iron deficiency anemia limits maximal physical performance, submaximal endurance, and spontaneous activity in the adult, resulting in diminished work productivity with attendant economic losses. The mechanisms underlying these effects, the extent to which anemia or iron deficiency separate from anemia is responsible, and the counterpart in infants and children remain to be established.
本综述研究了来自人体研究的最新证据，即缺铁会通过损害认知功能、产生非认知障碍以及限制活动和工作能力，对行为产生不利影响。总体而言，这一研究主体为加大缺铁性贫血的预防和治疗力度提供了越来越有说服力的论据。认知功能。有相当充分的证据表明，缺铁性贫血婴儿的智力和运动发育测试分数会降低。尽管关于缺铁大龄儿童和成年人认知功能的研究稀少且多样，但这表明缺铁可能与注意力过程的改变有关。铁疗法尚未被证明能有效完全纠正所观察到的障碍。尽管认知功能的某些方面似乎会随着铁疗法而改变，但治疗后仍可注意到发育、智商和成绩测试分数较低。非认知障碍。在婴儿发育测试期间还观察到了各种非认知改变，包括对测试刺激无反应、注意力持续时间短、不开心、恐惧增加、回避检查人员以及身体紧张加剧。探索性分析表明，此类行为异常可能是缺铁性贫血婴儿发育测试表现不佳的原因。这些研究表明，除了特定的认知过程外，研究行为的非认知方面，如情感和活动，是富有成效的。活动和工作能力。有证据不断积累表明，缺铁性贫血会限制成年人的最大身体表现、次最大耐力和自发活动，导致工作效率下降并伴随经济损失。这些影响背后的机制、贫血或缺铁（与贫血分开）所起作用的程度以及婴儿和儿童中的相应情况仍有待确定。
