Abstract
Few studies have evaluated iron absorption in small children after the first year of life. Our objectives were to examine the relations among iron intake, iron absorption, and iron status in a group of healthy children. We studied 28 children, ages 12 to 48 mo, after a 7-d home adaptation to a diet representative of their usual daily mineral intake. A multi-tracer stable isotope study was performed to assess iron absorption both from a meal ( 58Fe) and from a reference iron dose (57Fe) given with ascorbic acid without a meal. Iron intake was 6.9 ± 2.4 mg, approximately the 35th percentile of typical U.S. intakes. Absorption of 58Fe was related to serumferritin (r2 = 0.319, P = 0.0018) and more so to reference dose iron absorption (r2 = 0.653, P < 0.0001). Iron absorption was negatively correlated with zinc intake (r2 = 0.090, P = 0.0049) but was not correlated with iron intake (P = 0.20). However, zinc intake was not correlated with measures of iron status, including reference dose iron absorption and serum ferritin (r2 < 0.1, P > 0.25). Total absorbed iron was similar to needs estimated by the Institute of Medicine. We conclude that iron absorption in young children is more closely related to iron status than to iron intake. Reference dose iron absorption may be superior to serum ferritin as a surrogate measure for iron status in this age group. Although zinc intake may affect iron absorption from a meal, it does not appear to have a detectable effect on overall iron status in otherwise well-nourished children.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 88-92 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of Nutrition |
| Volume | 137 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - Jan 2007 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Food Science
Cite this
Iron absorption is more closely related to iron status than to daily iron intake in 12- to 48-mo-old children. / Lynch, Mary Frances; Griffin, Ian J.; Hawthorne, Keli M.; Chen, Zhensheng; Hamzo, Maria G.; Abrams, Steven A.
In: Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 137, No. 1, 01.2007, p. 88-92.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Iron absorption is more closely related to iron status than to daily iron intake in 12- to 48-mo-old children
AU - Lynch, Mary Frances
AU - Griffin, Ian J.
AU - Hawthorne, Keli M.
AU - Chen, Zhensheng
AU - Hamzo, Maria G.
AU - Abrams, Steven A.
PY - 2007/1
Y1 - 2007/1
N2 - Few studies have evaluated iron absorption in small children after the first year of life. Our objectives were to examine the relations among iron intake, iron absorption, and iron status in a group of healthy children. We studied 28 children, ages 12 to 48 mo, after a 7-d home adaptation to a diet representative of their usual daily mineral intake. A multi-tracer stable isotope study was performed to assess iron absorption both from a meal ( 58Fe) and from a reference iron dose (57Fe) given with ascorbic acid without a meal. Iron intake was 6.9 ± 2.4 mg, approximately the 35th percentile of typical U.S. intakes. Absorption of 58Fe was related to serumferritin (r2 = 0.319, P = 0.0018) and more so to reference dose iron absorption (r2 = 0.653, P < 0.0001). Iron absorption was negatively correlated with zinc intake (r2 = 0.090, P = 0.0049) but was not correlated with iron intake (P = 0.20). However, zinc intake was not correlated with measures of iron status, including reference dose iron absorption and serum ferritin (r2 < 0.1, P > 0.25). Total absorbed iron was similar to needs estimated by the Institute of Medicine. We conclude that iron absorption in young children is more closely related to iron status than to iron intake. Reference dose iron absorption may be superior to serum ferritin as a surrogate measure for iron status in this age group. Although zinc intake may affect iron absorption from a meal, it does not appear to have a detectable effect on overall iron status in otherwise well-nourished children.
AB - Few studies have evaluated iron absorption in small children after the first year of life. Our objectives were to examine the relations among iron intake, iron absorption, and iron status in a group of healthy children. We studied 28 children, ages 12 to 48 mo, after a 7-d home adaptation to a diet representative of their usual daily mineral intake. A multi-tracer stable isotope study was performed to assess iron absorption both from a meal ( 58Fe) and from a reference iron dose (57Fe) given with ascorbic acid without a meal. Iron intake was 6.9 ± 2.4 mg, approximately the 35th percentile of typical U.S. intakes. Absorption of 58Fe was related to serumferritin (r2 = 0.319, P = 0.0018) and more so to reference dose iron absorption (r2 = 0.653, P < 0.0001). Iron absorption was negatively correlated with zinc intake (r2 = 0.090, P = 0.0049) but was not correlated with iron intake (P = 0.20). However, zinc intake was not correlated with measures of iron status, including reference dose iron absorption and serum ferritin (r2 < 0.1, P > 0.25). Total absorbed iron was similar to needs estimated by the Institute of Medicine. We conclude that iron absorption in young children is more closely related to iron status than to iron intake. Reference dose iron absorption may be superior to serum ferritin as a surrogate measure for iron status in this age group. Although zinc intake may affect iron absorption from a meal, it does not appear to have a detectable effect on overall iron status in otherwise well-nourished children.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33846032265&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 17182806
AN - SCOPUS:33846032265
VL - 137
SP - 88
EP - 92
JO - Journal of Nutrition
JF - Journal of Nutrition
SN - 0022-3166
IS - 1
ER -