Campbell Rebecca K, Tanna Nicole K, Hartwig Julie, Buhimschi Catalin S, Buhimschi Irina A
Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
College of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Nutrients. 2025 Jul 11;17(14):2292. doi: 10.3390/nu17142292.
Iron stores accrued in utero are critical for fetal and infant neurodevelopment. Low neonatal hemoglobin (Hb) may indicate inadequate iron capture and storage. Prior studies differ on whether and under what conditions maternal anemia predicts neonatal Hb; whether sex differences are present is unknown. Maternal and neonatal Hb and sociodemographic and health characteristics were abstracted from electronic medical records for biorepository participants at a tertiary academic medical center. Maternal anemia was defined as Hb < 11 g/dL in trimesters T1 and T3 and Hb < 10.5 g/dL in T2. Adjusted linear regression models were used to estimate associations of maternal anemia with neonatal Hb. Sex differences were evaluated with product terms and stratification. In 228 participants with maternal Hb measured, the prevalence of prenatal (pre-delivery) and delivery anemia was 54% and 44%, respectively. Maternal race and ethnicity but no other sociodemographic characteristics were associated with maternal anemia. Neonatal hematology was available for 114 newborns < 7 days old (50%; 52% male). The median (IQR) neonatal Hb was 16.7 g/dL (14.9, 18.0) and did not differ by sex, but it was lower among infants of mothers with vs. without delivery anemia (15.9 vs. 17.1, = 0.032) and those identifying as Black vs. Hispanic or other (16.0, 17.9, 17.0, respectively; = 0.003). Independent associations of maternal anemia and race and ethnicity with neonatal Hb were stronger in males and attenuated to null in females. Maternal anemia was highly prevalent and associated sex-specifically with neonatal Hb independent of maternal race and ethnicity. Future studies to replicate these findings with a more comprehensive panel of iron biomarkers are needed. Functional consequences of greater susceptibility to risk factors for low neonatal Hb in male infants need to be further investigated.
子宫内积累的铁储存对胎儿和婴儿的神经发育至关重要。新生儿血红蛋白（Hb）水平低可能表明铁的摄取和储存不足。先前的研究在母亲贫血是否以及在何种情况下可预测新生儿Hb方面存在差异；性别差异是否存在尚不清楚。从一家三级学术医疗中心生物样本库参与者的电子病历中提取母亲和新生儿的Hb以及社会人口统计学和健康特征。母亲贫血的定义为妊娠第一期和第三期Hb<11 g/dL，妊娠第二期Hb<10.5 g/dL。采用校正线性回归模型估计母亲贫血与新生儿Hb之间的关联。通过乘积项和分层评估性别差异。在228名测量了母亲Hb的参与者中，产前（分娩前）和分娩时贫血的患病率分别为54%和44%。母亲的种族和民族与母亲贫血有关，但其他社会人口统计学特征无关。114名7日龄以下新生儿（50%；52%为男性）的新生儿血液学数据可用。新生儿Hb的中位数（IQR）为16.7 g/dL（14.9，18.0），且无性别差异，但分娩时贫血母亲的婴儿Hb低于未患贫血母亲的婴儿（分别为15.9和17.1，P = 0.032），以及自我认定为黑人的婴儿低于西班牙裔或其他种族婴儿（分别为16.0、17.9、17.0；P = 0.003）。母亲贫血以及种族和民族与新生儿Hb的独立关联在男性中更强，在女性中减弱至无关联。母亲贫血非常普遍，且与新生儿Hb存在性别特异性关联，与母亲的种族和民族无关。未来需要开展更多研究，使用更全面的铁生物标志物面板来重复这些发现。男婴对新生儿Hb低风险因素易感性更高的功能后果需要进一步研究。
