The Effects of Prenatal Iron Supplementation on Offspring Neurodevelopment in Upper Middle- or High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine the impact of prenatal iron supplementation on child neurodevelopment in upper middle-income and high-income countries.
Results Summary
The study conducted a systematic review of RCTs but found unclear impacts of iron supplementation on child neurodevelopment in the studied populations. Only three RCTs from two high-income countries were included, indicating limited data.
Population
Pregnant women in high-income countries (Spain and Australia).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Iron supplementation | neutral | maternal iron deficiency (ID) or iron deficiency anemia (IDA) | - | - | commonly recommended for the prevention and treatment | #1 |
prophylactic or therapeutic prenatal iron supplementation | no change | child neurodevelopment | upper middle-income (UMI) and high-income countries (HICs) | - | impacts are unclear | #2 |
Iron supplementation is commonly recommended for the prevention and treatment of maternal iron deficiency (ID) or iron deficiency anemia (IDA). However, the impacts of prophylactic of therapeutic prenatal iron supplementation on child neurodevelopment in upper middle-income (UMI) and high-income countries (HICs), where broad nutritional deficiencies are less common, are unclear. To investigate this, we conducted a systematic review, searching four databases (Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library) through 1 May 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing oral or intravenous iron supplementation in pregnant women reporting on child neurodevelopment (primary outcome: age-standardized cognitive scores) were eligible. We included three RCTs (five publications) from two HICs (Spain and Australia) (