Iron deficiency and common neurodevelopmental disorders-A scoping review.

<h4>Background</h4>A wealth of human and experimental studies document a causal and aggravating role of iron deficiency in neurodevelopmental disorders. While pre-, peri-, and early postnatal iron deficiency sets the stage for the risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders, iron def...

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Main Authors: Scout McWilliams, Ishmeet Singh, Wayne Leung, Sylvia Stockler, Osman S Ipsiroglu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0273819&type=printable
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author Scout McWilliams
Ishmeet Singh
Wayne Leung
Sylvia Stockler
Osman S Ipsiroglu
author_facet Scout McWilliams
Ishmeet Singh
Wayne Leung
Sylvia Stockler
Osman S Ipsiroglu
author_sort Scout McWilliams
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>A wealth of human and experimental studies document a causal and aggravating role of iron deficiency in neurodevelopmental disorders. While pre-, peri-, and early postnatal iron deficiency sets the stage for the risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders, iron deficiency acquired at later ages aggravates pre-existing neurodevelopmental disorders. Yet, the association of iron deficiency and neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and adolescence has not yet been explored comprehensively. In this scoping review, we investigate 1) the association of iron deficiency in children and adolescents with the most frequent neurodevelopmental disorders, ADHD, ASD, and FASD, and 2) whether iron supplementation improves outcomes in these disorders.<h4>Method</h4>Scoping review of studies published between 1994 and 2021 using "iron deficiency / iron deficiency anemia" AND "ADHD" OR "autism" OR "FASD" in four biomedical databases. The main inclusion criterion was that articles needed to have quantitative determination of iron status at any postnatal age with primary iron markers such as serum ferritin being reported in association with ADHD, ASD, or FASD.<h4>Results</h4>For ADHD, 22/30 studies and 4/4 systematic reviews showed an association of ADHD occurrence or severity with iron deficiency; 6/6 treatment studies including 2 randomized controlled trials demonstrated positive effects of iron supplementation. For ASD, 3/6 studies showed an association with iron deficiency, while 3/6 and 1/1 systematic literature review did not; 4 studies showed a variety of prevalence rates of iron deficiency in ASD populations; 1 randomized controlled trial found no positive effect of iron supplementation on behavioural symptoms of ASD. For FASD, 2/2 studies showed an association of iron deficiency with growth retardation in infants and children with prenatal alcohol exposure.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Evidence in favor of screening for iron deficiency and using iron supplementation for pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders comes primarily from ADHD studies and needs to be further investigated for ASD and FASD. Further analysis of study methodologies employed and populations investigated is needed to compare studies against each other and further substantiate the evidence created.
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spelling doaj-art-9b82ba79897b46d98b2c39e017c0e1df2025-02-05T05:32:48ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01179e027381910.1371/journal.pone.0273819Iron deficiency and common neurodevelopmental disorders-A scoping review.Scout McWilliamsIshmeet SinghWayne LeungSylvia StocklerOsman S Ipsiroglu<h4>Background</h4>A wealth of human and experimental studies document a causal and aggravating role of iron deficiency in neurodevelopmental disorders. While pre-, peri-, and early postnatal iron deficiency sets the stage for the risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders, iron deficiency acquired at later ages aggravates pre-existing neurodevelopmental disorders. Yet, the association of iron deficiency and neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and adolescence has not yet been explored comprehensively. In this scoping review, we investigate 1) the association of iron deficiency in children and adolescents with the most frequent neurodevelopmental disorders, ADHD, ASD, and FASD, and 2) whether iron supplementation improves outcomes in these disorders.<h4>Method</h4>Scoping review of studies published between 1994 and 2021 using "iron deficiency / iron deficiency anemia" AND "ADHD" OR "autism" OR "FASD" in four biomedical databases. The main inclusion criterion was that articles needed to have quantitative determination of iron status at any postnatal age with primary iron markers such as serum ferritin being reported in association with ADHD, ASD, or FASD.<h4>Results</h4>For ADHD, 22/30 studies and 4/4 systematic reviews showed an association of ADHD occurrence or severity with iron deficiency; 6/6 treatment studies including 2 randomized controlled trials demonstrated positive effects of iron supplementation. For ASD, 3/6 studies showed an association with iron deficiency, while 3/6 and 1/1 systematic literature review did not; 4 studies showed a variety of prevalence rates of iron deficiency in ASD populations; 1 randomized controlled trial found no positive effect of iron supplementation on behavioural symptoms of ASD. For FASD, 2/2 studies showed an association of iron deficiency with growth retardation in infants and children with prenatal alcohol exposure.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Evidence in favor of screening for iron deficiency and using iron supplementation for pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders comes primarily from ADHD studies and needs to be further investigated for ASD and FASD. Further analysis of study methodologies employed and populations investigated is needed to compare studies against each other and further substantiate the evidence created.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0273819&type=printable
spellingShingle Scout McWilliams
Ishmeet Singh
Wayne Leung
Sylvia Stockler
Osman S Ipsiroglu
Iron deficiency and common neurodevelopmental disorders-A scoping review.
PLoS ONE
title Iron deficiency and common neurodevelopmental disorders-A scoping review.
title_full Iron deficiency and common neurodevelopmental disorders-A scoping review.
title_fullStr Iron deficiency and common neurodevelopmental disorders-A scoping review.
title_full_unstemmed Iron deficiency and common neurodevelopmental disorders-A scoping review.
title_short Iron deficiency and common neurodevelopmental disorders-A scoping review.
title_sort iron deficiency and common neurodevelopmental disorders a scoping review
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0273819&type=printable
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AT osmansipsiroglu irondeficiencyandcommonneurodevelopmentaldisordersascopingreview