Children With Autism: Effect of Iron Supplementation on Sleep and Ferritin

Dosman, Cara; Brian, Jessica; Drmic, Irene; Senthilselvan, Ambikaipakan; Harford, Mary; Smith, Rebecca P.; Sharieff, Waseem; Zlotkin, Stanley; Moldofsky, Harvey; Roberts, S. Wendy

doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2006.11.004

Cited by 146 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The third area of symptoms is often associated with a need for sameness, which is thought to contribute to feeding issues, such as mealtime rituals and a limited food repertoire 1,2 reported in 70% to 90% of children with ASD. [3][4][5] Previous studies have raised concerns that intake of iron, B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin K, calcium, and zinc may be deficient in up to one-third of children with ASDs, and that dietary insufficiency may be more common in children on a restrictive diet [6][7][8][9] ; however, the Autism Treatment Network (ATN) Diet and Nutrition Study, also published in this supplement, 10 did not find differences. Indeed, the prevalence of inadequate intake was similar to the general pediatric population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Iron Status in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

et al. 2012

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often have food selectivity and restricted diets, putting them at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Previous studies have demonstrated a high prevalence of iron deficiency (ID) in children with ASDs living in Wales, Canada, and Turkey. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of ID and the adequacy of iron intake in children with ASD in the United States. METHODS Participants (age 2–11 years recruited from the Autism Treatment Network Diet and Nutrition Study) completed a 3-day diet record (n = 368) and had laboratory measures of serum ferritin (SF), complete blood count, iron, total iron binding capacity, and transferrin saturation (TS) (n = 222). RESULTS Of the 222 participants with laboratory data, 18 (8%) had SF <12 µg/L and 2 (1%) had ID defined by both low SF and TS (3 children with low SF had missing TS data). One subject had iron deficiency anemia. Fewer than 2% of subjects had iron intake below the estimated average requirement. CONCLUSIONS Although the determination of iron status is complex, these data do not support previous reports that children with ASD are at greater risk for ID than the general population; however, 8% percent of the sample did demonstrate low SF despite <2% of the sample demonstrating iron intake below the estimated average requirement. The prevalence of low SF may be an underestimate, because SF is an acute phase reactant and the study included no measure of inflammation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Iron Status in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

et al. 2012

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“…An open-label uncontrolled study was undertaken as a pilot study to examine the effects of iron supplementation in children with autism (n=33, 2-10 years of age) (Dosman et al 2007). The study examined effects on ferritin levels and sleep.…”

Section: Ironmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One study has shown that iron levels may be problematic in children with ASD (Latif et al 2002), and clearly there are obvious benefits in treating iron deficiency. However, in terms of actually improving sleep and behaviour, the study conducted by Dosman et al (2007) provides insufficient evidence for efficacy and is assigned to the 'lack of evidence' category of the Natural Standard Research Collaboration grading rationale.…”

Section: Ironmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Complementary Medicine Products Used in Autism - Evidence for Efficacy and Safety

Semple¹,

Hewton²,

Paterson³

et al. 2011

Autism Spectrum Disorders - From Genes to Environment

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“…It is believed that anemia has an irrevocably negative effect on intellectual function, especially when it occurs in pre-, peri-and postnatal life, even if hemoglobin levels subsequently normalize (Hurtado et al, 1999). Anemia tends to be chronic in autism spectrum disorders and is usually correlated with iron (Latif et al, 2002), folate (Moretti et al, 2005), and possibly ferritin (Dosman et al, 2007), transferrin and associated receptor deficiencies (Chauhan et al, 2004). Common iron deficits may be due to insufficient food intake or absorption problems caused by the various gastrointestinal diseases that may accompany autism.…”

Section: Biomarkersmentioning

confidence: 99%