Babu Puneeth Amaresh, Garg Ajoy Kumar, Patnaik Saroj Kumar, John Biju M
Department of Paediatrics, Command Hospital Air Force Bangalore, Bengaluru, India.
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2025 Aug;81(2):324-330. doi: 10.1002/jpn3.70116. Epub 2025 Jun 11.
To assess the prevalence of iron deficiency in predominantly breastfed infants at 6 months of age and compare the risk of iron deficiency between those born with latent iron deficiency (LID) and those with normal iron status (NIS).
This prospective cohort study was conducted at a single tertiary care center in southern India. Infants born at a gestational age of more than 34 weeks were enrolled and classified based on their cord serum ferritin concentrations as having either NIS (ferritin > 75 ng/mL) or LID (ferritin 11-75 ng/mL). At 6 months of age, these infants were reassessed for hemoglobin and serum ferritin levels to evaluate their iron status.
Of 559 neonates included, 45 had LID and 514 had NIS at birth. At 6-month follow-up, 272 infants were reassessed: 33 with LID and 239 with NIS. The mean hemoglobin at 6 months was 10.21 ( ± 1.14) g/dL in the LID group and 10.48 ( ± 0.96) g/dL in the NIS group. The overall incidence of iron deficiency was 27.6%. The incidence was significantly higher in the LID group (48.5%) compared to the NIS group (24.7%), with a relative risk of 2.3 (95% CI: 1.48, 3.56), and a p-value of < 0.001.
Predominantly breastfed infants with LID at birth are at a significantly higher risk of developing iron deficiency by 6 months of age compared to those with NIS at birth. Early screening and timely iron supplementation in infants with LID may help mitigate iron deficiency.
评估主要以母乳喂养的6月龄婴儿缺铁的患病率，并比较出生时患有潜在缺铁（LID）的婴儿和铁状态正常（NIS）的婴儿缺铁的风险。
这项前瞻性队列研究在印度南部的一家三级医疗中心进行。纳入孕周超过34周出生的婴儿，并根据其脐血血清铁蛋白浓度分为NIS（铁蛋白>75 ng/mL）或LID（铁蛋白11 - 75 ng/mL）。在6月龄时，对这些婴儿重新评估血红蛋白和血清铁蛋白水平，以评估其铁状态。
纳入的559例新生儿中，45例出生时患有LID，514例出生时患有NIS。在6个月随访时，对272例婴儿进行了重新评估：33例患有LID，239例患有NIS。LID组6个月时的平均血红蛋白为10.21（±1.14）g/dL，NIS组为10.48（±0.96）g/dL。缺铁的总体发生率为27.6%。LID组的发生率（48.5%）显著高于NIS组（24.7%），相对风险为2.3（95%CI：1.48，3.56），p值<0.001。
与出生时铁状态正常的婴儿相比，出生时主要以母乳喂养且患有LID的婴儿在6月龄时发生缺铁的风险显著更高。对LID婴儿进行早期筛查并及时补充铁剂可能有助于减轻缺铁情况。
