Factors affecting iron stores in infants 4–18 months of age

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Abstract
Objectives: To determine the effects of dietary, physiological or environmental factors on body iron levels in infants aged 4–18 months. Design: The daily iron intake of the infants was measured from a diet history obtained by interview using a standardised question sheet, previously validated against weighed intake (minimum 3 days) in an independent sample of 8 and 18 month old infants. Capillary blood samples were analyzed for haemoglobin, mean cell volume, haematocrit, zinc protoporphyrin and plasma ferritin concentration. Ferritin values were log-transformed prior to analysis to give a better approximation to the normal distribution and forward stepwise multiple linear regression was carried out using SPSS. Setting: The city of Norwich, UK and some of its suburbs. Subjects: One hundred and eighty-one healthy infants in age groups 4, 8, 12 and 18 months. Results: Main determinants of iron stores in the 4 month old infants were birth weight (+ve (PPPPPboys (Pboys (PPboys), possibly reflecting the different growth rate between boys and girls. At 12 and 18 months the only significant factors are gender (girls>boys) and non-haem iron intake (−ve) respectively. Sponsorship: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

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