Neurological effects of iron supplementation in infancy: finding the balance between health and harm in iron-replete infants

Abstract

Iron mediates many biochemical processes in neural networks that proliferate during brain development. Insufficient iron causes irreversible neurodevelopmental deficits, and most high-income countries recommend that infants older than 4–6 months receive additional iron via food fortification or supplementation to prevent iron-deficiency anaemia. Now that the prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia in children has decreased to less than 10% in most developed countries, concerns that the recommended intakes far exceed those required to prevent iron-deficiency anaemia have been raised, and emerging evidence suggests that iron overexposure could be linked to adverse outcomes later in life. In this..