Haem iron intake in 12-36 month old children depleted in iron: case-control study

Abstract

To compare the intakes of haem and non-haem iron in iron depleted and iron replete children. Case-control study. Early Childhood Centres and a long day care centre in Sydney, Australia. Children aged 12-36 months depleted in iron and controls matched for age and sex. Iron status by using plasma ferritin concentration. A three day weighed dietary intake record completed by the parents. Risk factors for iron deficiency assessed by questionnaire. Fifty six iron depleted and 68 iron replete children participated. The average daily intake of haem iron was significantly lower in the iron depleted group (t = 2.392, P = 0.018); there was a tendency towards a lower average daily intake of non-haem iron (t = 1.724, P = 0.086) and vitamin C (t = 1.921, P = 0.057) for iron depleted children. Low intake of haem iron (< 0.71 mg/day) was significantly associated with iron depletion with an odds ratio fo 3.0 (P = 0.005). The proportion of iron depleted children who were given whole cows' milk before 12 months of age was almost double that of iron replete children; multivariate analysis showed that both haem iron intake and age of introduction of cows' milk were independently associated with iron depletion. The results of this study show that, in young children in developed countries, a lower haem iron intake is a major risk factor for iron depletion; the introduction of whole cows' milk before 12 months is further confirmed as a risk factor. Parental education on nutrition should now focus on these two aspects of nutrition for infants and young children.