A third of Western Australian one-year-olds and up to two thirds of three-year-olds have low iron, a study by The Kids Research Institute Australia has found.
IRON Child, a sub-project of longitudinal birth study ORIGINS, was undertaken with project partner, Joondalup Health Campus (JHC).
ORIGINS Co-Director and Joondalup Health Campus Professor of Paediatrics Desiree Silva said the findings were concerning because low iron was potentially detrimental at such a critical stage of life and development.
“Low iron can affect speech, sleep and appetite and can also potentially lead to neurocognitive, mental health and behavioural issues,” Dr Silva said.
ORIGINS is the largest longitudinal birth study of its kind in Australia, using data from 10,000 babies born at JHC where work is now underway by IRON Child researchers to find out why iron deficiency is so prevalent among toddlers and to help find solutions.
One of the areas of focus includes investigating possible links between iron deficiency and childhood anxiety and neurodevelopmental conditions, including ADHD.
Paediatrician and Deputy Director of Medical Services at Joondalup Health Campus Dr Lana Bell said while long-term outcomes from the broader ORIGINS research platform would take more time to transpire, the IRON Child project would provide some practical and affordable actions solutions for parents in the interim.
“We know waiting times for specialists, including paediatricians now extend into months and years, early intervention to address low iron including diet and nutrition, could potentially provide a cost-effective solution for affected children and their families,” Dr Bell said.
IRON Child’s Chief Investigator and ORIGINS Biobank Manager, Dr Nina D’Vaz, highlighted how the team is also utilising the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help analyse the data.
“ORIGINS houses over 196,000 aliquoted blood samples in our Biobank. By leveraging AI, we’re accelerating research to inform primary caregivers earlier about their child’s iron levels, allowing for intervention before symptoms become clinically significant,” Dr D’Vaz said.
To date, 864 children across ORIGINS and IRON Child have been detected as being low in iron, with their guardians notified and a treatment plan provided to increase iron intake through diet and nutritional changes.
Dr D’Vaz, Professor Silva and the wider IRON Child team also hope to translate the findings to other communities to improve childhood wellness.
Read more about IRON Child here: https://originsproject.thekids.org.au/sub-projects/nutrition-metabolism/iron-child/