UC San Diego

Background

Infants who are iron-deficient anemic seek and receive less stimulation from their caregivers, predisposing such children to be functionally isolated.

Objectives

To test the sequence whereby iron deficiency in infancy contributes to children's disengagement from the environment, which reduces parent stimulation which, in turn, contributes to children's poor verbal skills.

Methods

Chilean children (N = 875, 54% male) were studied, 45% of whom were iron deficient or iron-deficient anemic in infancy. We used structural equation modeling to test the sequence outlined above and to examine the effect of infant iron status on children's verbal performance at ages 5 and 10 years including the roles of child and parent intermediate variables.

Results

Severity of iron deficiency in infancy was associated with higher levels of children's dull affect and social reticence at 5 years (β = .10, B = .26, SE = .12, p < .05), and these behaviors were associated with parent unresponsiveness (β = .29, B = .13, SE = .03, p < .001), which related to children's lower verbal abilities at age 5 (β = - .29, B = - 2.33, SE = .47, p < .001) and age 10 (β = - .22, B = - 3.04, SE = .75, p < .001). An alternate model where poor iron status related directly to children's verbal ability was tested but not supported.

Conclusions

Findings support functional isolation processes resulting from a nutritional deficiency, with iron-deficient anemic infants showing affective and behavioral tendencies that limit developmentally stimulating caregiving which, in turn, hinder children's verbal abilities.