Effect of Infant Iron Deficiency on Children's Verbal Abilities: The Roles of Child Affect and Parent Unresponsiveness.

ABSTRACT:

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

SUBMITTER: East P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6714573 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature