• Lucía Iglesias-Vázquez, Núria Voltas, Carmen Hernández-Martínez, Josefa Canals, Pilar Coronel, Mercedes Gimeno, Josep Basora, and Victoria Arija.
• Nutrition and Mental Health (NUTRISAM) research group, Rovira i Virgili University, Reus, Spain; Pere Virgili Institute of Health Research (IISPV), Reus, Spain.
• Am J Prev Med. 2023 Sep 1; 65 (3): 395405395-405.

IntroductionThe effectiveness of prenatal iron supplementation improves maternal hematological outcomes, but little research has focused on child outcomes. The objective of this study was to assess whether prenatal iron supplementation adjusted to maternal needs improves children's cognitive functioning.MethodsThe analyses included a subsample of nonanemic pregnant women recruited in early pregnancy and their children aged 4 years (n=295). Data were collected between 2013 and 2017 in Tarragona (Spain). On the basis of hemoglobin levels before the 12th gestational week, women receive different iron doses: 80 vs 40 mg/d if hemoglobin is 110-130 g/L and 20 vs 40 mg/d if hemoglobin >130 g/L. Children's cognitive functioning was assessed using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-IV and Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment-II tests. The analyses were carried out in 2022 after the completion of the study. Multivariate regression models were performed for assessing the association between different doses of prenatal iron supplementation and children's cognitive functioning.ResultsTaking 80 mg/d of iron was positively associated with all the scales of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-IV and Neuropsychological Assessment-II when mothers had initial serum ferritin <15 µg/L, but it was negatively associated with Verbal Comprehension Index, Working Memory Index, Processing Speed Index, and Vocabulary Acquisition Index from Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-IV and verbal fluency index from Neuropsychological Assessment-II when mothers showed initial serum ferritin >65 µg/L. In the other group, taking 20 mg/d of iron was positively associated with Working Memory Index, Intelligence Quotient, verbal fluency, and emotion recognition indices when women had initial serum ferritin >65 µg/L.ConclusionsPrenatal iron supplementation adjusted to the maternal hemoglobin levels and baseline iron stores improves cognitive functioning in children aged 4 years.Copyright © 2023 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

14 keywords...

hide…