Public release date: 5-May-2008

Contact: Laura Bailey
baileylm@umich.edu
734-647-1848
University of Michigan

Iron supplements might harm infants who have enough
ANN ARBOR, Mich.---A new study suggests that extra iron for infants
who don't need it might delay development -- results that fuel the
debate over optimal iron supplement levels and could have huge
implications for the baby formula and food industry.

"Our results for 25 years of research show problems with lack of iron.
For us to find this result is a big deal, it's really unexpected,"
said Dr. Betsy Lozoff, University of Michigan research professor at
the Center for Human Growth and Development, and the study's principal
investigator.

U.S. infant formulas typically come fortified with 12 mg/L of iron to
prevent iron-deficiency anemia. Europe generally uses a lower amount.
In infants, iron-deficiency anemia is associated with poorer
development, and during pregnancy it contributes to anemia in mothers,
contributing to premature birth, low birth weight and other
complications.

"I thought that behavior and development would be better with the 12
mg formula," said Lozoff, also professor of pediatrics in the U-M
Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases at the Medical
School and C.S. Mott Children's Hospital

The U-M study of 494 Chilean children showed that those who received
iron fortified formula in infancy at the 12 mg used in the U.S. lagged
behind those who received low-iron formula in cognitive and visual-
motor development by age 10 years. Lozoff stressed that most children
who received the 12 mg formula did not show lower scores. But the 5
percent of the sample with the highest hemoglobin levels at 6 months
showed the poorest outcome. Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin, a
substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen. High
hemoglobin generally indicates sufficient iron.

Adversely affected children scored 11 points lower in IQ and 12 points
lower in visual-motor integration, on average; the average overall
score on both tests was 100. A similar pattern was observed for
spatial memory and other visual-motor measures.

Lozoff noted that not many infants in Chile had high hemoglobin levels
at the time since there was no iron-fortification program for infants
and that more than 5 percent of U.S. infants might have high
hemoglobin levels in early infancy.

In this randomized study, healthy infants without iron-deficiency
anemia were given formula with either 12 mg or 2.3 mg iron from 6 to
12 months and followed to 10 years. The next step is to test the
participants again at age 16, Lozoff said, who says that no such study
has been conducted in the United States or elsewhere.

Iron deficiency occurs because babies grow so quickly they often "grow
out" of the amount of iron they are born with. Breast milk is thought
to contain the iron a baby needs for 4-6 months, Lozoff said. Other
important sources of iron for infants include iron-fortified infant
formulas and cereals, iron drops and meat.

Infants are typically not tested for hemoglobin or iron levels before
9-12 months. It would be premature to recommend earlier testing or to
avoid supplemental iron based on the study's results, Lozoff said. She
expects parents to be concerned, but stressed that results must be
reproduced in other studies.

"At this point there's no basis for changing practice, but it's really
important that we have continued research on this issue," she said.

###
The paper, "Poorer developmental outcome at 10 years with 12 mg/L iron-
fortified formula in infancy," was expected to be presented May 5 at
the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Honolulu. Co-
authors on the study include: Marcela Castillo, Institute of Nutrition
and Food Technology, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile, and Julia
B. Smith, Educational Leadership, Oakland University, Michigan.

The infancy and follow-up studies have been supported by the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development at NIH.

For more on Lozoff, visit: www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/public/experts/ExpDisplay.php?ExpID=487

For more on the Center for Human Growth and Development, visit:
www.chgd.umich.edu/

For more on the PAS meeting: www.pas-meeting.org/2008%20Honolulu/

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