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Nutritional Iron Deficiency in Early Childhood

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Iron Deficiency and Overload

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

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Summary

• The true prevalence of nutritional iron deficiency (ID) in childhood is unclear because of the uncertainty over its definition and the insensitivity of markers of ID.

• The major cause in developed countries is likely to be the excessive and early use of cow’s milk and a diet poor in haem iron.

• Recent neuro-physiological observations support the many field studies correlating ID with cognitive and motor developmental delay in young children, although proof of causality has not been established because of environmental confounding.

• Population iron supplementation is a potentially effective means of prevention of ID but is limited by poor compliance and the risk of increased morbidity and mortality in malarious regions.

• Fortification of milk and essential infant foods is likely to be the most cost-effective means of improving the iron status of child populations.

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  1. Institute of Child Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Robert J.D. Moy MD

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  1. Robert J.D. Moy MD
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  1. Dept. Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 52900, Israel

    Shlomo Yehuda

  2. Dept. Psychology, Boston University, Cummington St. 64, Boston, 02215-2407, USA

    David I. Mostofsky

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Moy, R.J. (2009). Nutritional Iron Deficiency in Early Childhood. In: Yehuda, S., Mostofsky, D. (eds) Iron Deficiency and Overload. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-462-9_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-462-9_18

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