Children with autism: effect of iron supplementation on sleep and ferritin.

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Children with autism: effect of iron supplementation on sleep and ferritin.

Dosman CF, JA, Drmic IE, Senthilselvan A, Harford MM, RW,

Sharieff

W, Zlotkin SH, Moldofsky H, SW.

Pediatr Neurol. 2007 Mar;36(3):152-8.

Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital,

Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

cdosman@...

To determine if there is a relationship between low serum ferritin and sleep

disturbance in children with autism spectrum disorder, an 8-week open-label

treatment trial with oral iron supplementation was conducted as a pilot

study.

At baseline and posttreatment visits, parents completed a Sleep Disturbance

Scale for Children and a Food Record. Blood samples were obtained.

Thirty-three

children completed the study. Seventy-seven percent had restless sleep at

baseline, which improved significantly with iron therapy, suggesting a

relationship between sleep disturbance and iron deficiency in children with

autism spectrum disorder. Sixty-nine percent of preschoolers and 35% of

school-aged children had insufficient dietary iron intake. Mean ferritin

increased significantly (16 microg/L to 29 microg/L), as did mean

corpuscular

volume and hemoglobin, suggesting that low ferritin in this patient group

resulted from insufficient iron intake. Similar prevalence of low ferritin

at

school age as preschool age indicates that children with autism spectrum

disorder require ongoing screening for iron deficiency.

PMID: 17352947 [PubMed - in process]

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