Looking Through a Crystal. Ball: Impact of iron status on Cognitive Functions in Egyptian Children

Elalfy, Dina; Abdelgoad, Ahmed Abdelhamid; Fahiem, Reham Ahmed

doi:10.21608/ejentas.2021.101256.1433

Looking Through a Crystal. Ball: Impact of iron status on Cognitive Functions in Egyptian Children

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Medical Studies for Children, Faculty of Postgraduate Childhood Studies, Ain Shams University, Egypt,

² Department of Otorhinolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Khobar, Dammam, Saudi Arabia

³ Lecturer of Phoniatrics, Department of Medical Studies for Children, Faculty of Postgraduate Childhood Studies, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

10.21608/ejentas.2021.101256.1433

Abstract

Objective: Determine the effect of IDA & ID, on the cognitive functions in children and its consequences.
Patients and Methods: Three groups of children were enrolled in this case-control study with an age range of 3- 8 years. They were selected from pediatric and phoniatric clinics in Egypt. Control group (CG): thirty normal children. Case groups were divided into GroupI: Nineteen Delayed language development children had ID only, Group II: Thirty Delayed language development children had iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Groups were subjected to (1) Full history taking (focusing on nutritional history). (2) CBC by automatic cell counters. (3) Iron status through estimation of serum ferritin level by ELISA. (4) Assessment of cognitive functions by assessment of Non- verbal Intelligent Quotient (NV-IQ) using Stanford Binet 5th Edition measuring (fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory). (5) Assessment of language-by-language test.
Results: Under the umbrella of faulty eating habits, there was a direct correlation between the NV-IQ and the deterioration of iron status with their consequence on delaying language development.
Conclusion: There is necessitating to assess NV-IQ and iron status in any child with delayed language development with poor attention span, intelligence, sensory perception functions, emotions, and behavior, especially with the condition of faulty eating habits.

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