According to this .. ferritin down to five doesn't seem to be .. bad ..
it actually seems to be .. good .. in kids .. anyhow ..
<<snip>>
ferritin <20 micro g/L at 4 mo, <9 micro g/L at 6 mo and <5 micro g/L
<<snip>>
Inadequate Definition Of Iron Deficiency In Infancy A DGReview of :"The
diagnostic criteria for iron deficiency in infants should be
reevaluated."
Nutrition
12/20/2002
By Robert Short
The current definitions for iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia
in infants are inadequate and need evaluation.
A study of 263 exclusively breast-fed infants in Honduras and Sweden
who were randomly assigned to receive iron supplementation or placebo
has led researchers in Sweden and the United States to this conclusion.
Blood samples were taken from the children at age 4, 6 and 9 months.
Reference ranges were determined using three different approaches for
defining iron-replete infants. The researchers evaluated various
variables for predicting the haemoglobin response to iron.
Dr M Domellof, from the Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics,
Umea University, Umea, Sweden, said, "The haemoglobin response to iron
was not a useful definition of iron deficiency anaemia at 4 months of
age. Haemoglobin, mean cell volume, and zinc protoporphyrin at 6 months
as well as growth variables predicted the haemoglobin response at 6-9
months, but ferritin and soluble transferrin receptors at 6 months did
not."
The investigators concluded that there was a need for a re-evaluation
of the definitions of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia.
They had set out to establish the cut-off values for the different
variables. They found the two standard deviation cut-off values in
iron-replete infants to be as follows: haemoglobin <105 g/L at 4-6
months and <100 g/L at 9 months; zinc protoporphyrin >75 micro mol/mol
haem at 4.6 months and >90 micro mol/mol haem at 9 months; ferritin <20
micro g/L at 4 mo, <9 micro g/L at 6 mo and <5 micro g/L at 9 mo; and
soluble transferrin receptors >11 mg/L at 4-9 months.
Nutrition
"The diagnostic criteria for iron deficiency in infants should be
reevaluated."
: Am J Clin Nutr 2002 Oct;76(4):858-64 Related Articles, Links
Iron status of infants fed low-iron formula: no effect of added bovine
lactoferrin or nucleotides.
Hernell O, Lonnerdal B.
Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, Umea University, Sweden
(OH), and the Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis
(BL).
BACKGROUND: The appropriate level of iron fortification in infant
formula remains undetermined. OBJECTIVES: We compared hematologic
indexes and iron-status indicators in infants who were either
breast-fed or fed formula with concentrations of 2 or 4 mg Fe/L and
evaluated the effects of providing part of the iron as bovine
lactoferrin and of adding nucleotides. DESIGN: Healthy term infants
were exclusively breast-fed (n = 16) or fed formula (n = 10-12) from
age 4 +/- 2 wk to 6 mo. Anthropometric measures were taken monthly, and
blood samples were taken at 1, 4, and 6 mo. Hematologic indexes;
indicators of iron, zinc, and copper status; and erythrocyte fatty
acids were assessed. RESULTS: No significant differences in hematology
or iron status were observed between groups at 4 and 6 mo of age.
Although 34% of all infants had a hemoglobin concentration <110 g/L at
6 mo, the absence of iron deficiency or defective erythropoiesis
suggests that this hemoglobin cutoff is too high for this age group.
Neither the source or the concentration of iron in formula nor
fortification with nucleotides had any significant effect on serum zinc
or copper, and nucleotide fortification did not affect erythrocyte
fatty acids. CONCLUSIONS: A concentration of 1.6 mg Fe/L formula meets
the iron requirement of healthy term infants aged
PMID: 12324301 [PubMed - in process]
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