Effect of Oral Iron Therapy on Developmental Assessment Scores in Infants with Iron Deficiency Anemia.

OBJECTIVES

To study the effect of oral iron therapy for 14 wk in infants with iron deficiency anemia on scores of the Developmental Assessment Scales for Indian Infants (DASII).

METHODS

This pre-post comparative study enrolled infants 6-24-mo-old with iron deficiency anemia and an equal number of non-anemic infants of same age group. The anemic group received oral iron therapy daily for 14 wk while the non-anemic group was given folic acid daily for the same duration. The primary outcome was improvement in Development Quotient (DQ) on DASII following oral iron therapy.

RESULTS

Twenty-six infants 6-24-mo-old with iron deficiency anemia and an equal number of non-anemic infants of the same age group were enrolled. The motor scores improved significantly following iron therapy in the anemic group (p = 0.01). Following iron therapy, DQ for mental clusters VII corresponding to language (vocabulary and comprehension) and X corresponding to manual dexterity improved significantly as compared to the baseline in the anemic group. Anemia was corrected in 22 (85%) and serum ferritin normalized in 21 (81%) anemic infants following iron therapy while 11 (42%) non-anemic infants became anemic after 14 wk. The baseline motor and mental scores on DASII were comparable in the anemic and non-anemic infants.

CONCLUSIONS

Motor development scores on DASII as well as DQ for mental clusters VII and X improved significantly in anemic infants following oral iron therapy.