A randomized trial of oral iron on tests of short-term memory and attention span in young pregnant women

Recent studies suggest that infant behavior and psychological test performance are impaired by iron deficiency and may be improved by iron. Comparable studies have not been performed in older populations. Young women early in pregnancy whose nutritional intake may be impaired by poverty constitute a high-risk population. Women aged 14-24 years coming for prenatal care at or before 16 weeks gestation whose hematocrits were ≥ 31% were randomized in a double-blind trial to receive vitamins supplemented with iron (experimental group) or vitamins alone (controls). Hematologic status and tests of short-term memory and attention span were assessed at entry and conclusion of the one-month treatment period. The experimental group showed significant improvement on the most sensitive measure of short-term memory and three subtests. On comparison of the change between initial and final scores, the experimental group showed significant or borderline greater improvement than controls on three tests. These results indicated a beneficial effect of iron therapy on psychometric test-score performance.