Funding outcome

Iron deficiency (ID) is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world, and the primary cause of anemia in most populations. Pregnant women and young children are at the highest risk of ID and anemia, and these conditions in early life are associated with many health complications in children, including learning and memory deficits, and behavioral impairments, as well as heart and kidney problems that can last a lifetime. Iron supplements are useful in preventing ID, but their safe and effective use requires accurate diagnosis of ID in the fetus or neonate. Unfortunately, fetal blood sampling is risky, and cord blood (which is a source of fetal blood readily available at the time of delivery) is rarely collected and analyzed. Instead, health practitioners rely of iron measurements in the mother to identify children at risk of ID and anemia. However, our recent studies have shown that currently used biomarkers of maternal iron status are not good predictors of newborn iron status, and therefore we could be overlooking many children with ID. Better diagnostic tests are desperately needed. Here, we propose to study the complex relationship between mother and newborn iron status biomarkers, and develop a tool that uses maternal indices to reliably diagnose ID and anemia in the neonate with far better precision and accuracy. This pilot study will involve 100 participants to assess population characteristics needed to plan a larger definitive study. This work will be an important step in devising better diagnostic tools for iron deficiency in newborns, and will enable us to implement more precise and effective strategies to treat these babies with iron during a critical period of growth and development.