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Document Type

Article

Abstract

A surveillance program of growth and development from birth to five years of age was integrated into the preventive Maternal and Child Health Services in a west­ern neighborhood of Jerusalem. Hemoglobin (Hgb) determinations were done at 9 months of age and the Developmental Quotient (DQ) was assessed at 24 months (n = 873), and the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) at 3 years (n = 373) and 5 years (n = 230) of age. An increase in the DQ score and the IQ score were noted with an increase in the Hgb level. Mother’s education, social class, birth weight, hemoglobin and sex were included in an analysis of covariance. The model explained 12.8% of the variance at 24 months, 25.5% at 3 years and 37.1% at 5 years of age. The increase in DQ or IQ associated with a change of 1 gm/dl in Hgb, controlling for the other independent variables, was 0.6 DQ points at 24 months, 1.1 IQ points at 3 years and 1.75 IQ points at 5 years of age. It seems possible that iron deficiency anemia during infancy may affect subsequent development as measured by achievement tests, though the clear-cut contributing factors to DQ and IQ performance are the social variables such as educational standard of mother and biologic factors such as birth weight and sex.

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