STUDY EXAMINES EFFECT OF IRON DEFICIENCY ON CHILDREN'S AND ADOLESCENTS' MATH TEST SCORES School-age children and adolescents with iron deficiency receive lower scores on standardized math tests than children and adolescents without iron deficiency, according to a study published in the June issue of Pediatrics. The authors studied data on 5,398 children between the ages of 6 and 16 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III) to evaluate the relationship between iron deficiency and standardized test scores. The authors found that * The prevalence of iron deficiency was less than 3% among 6- to 11-year-olds, 8.7% among 12- to 16-year-old females, and greater than 5% among Mexican-American children; children of races other than white, black, or Mexican American; and children living below the poverty level. * Iron-deficient children, with or without anemia, had lower math test scores than children with normal iron status. * Children with iron deficiency were not at increased risk for scoring below average on reading, block design, and digit span tests. * Children with iron deficiency had greater than twice the risk of scoring below average in math than children with normal iron status. The authors state that this study suggests that iron deficiency, by negatively affecting math performance among adolescent girls, may contribute to the gender discrepancy found in other studies that females perform better in math in elementary and middle school, but that males perform better in math than females in high school. They conclude, "It is not yet clear whether identification of an at-risk group, general iron supplementation, or a combination of these efforts would provide the best approach to prevent the potentially negative cognitive effects of iron deficiency." Halterman JS, Kaczorowski JM, Aligne CA, et al. Iron deficiency and cognitive achievement among school-aged children and adolescents in the United States. 2001. Pediatrics 107(6):1381-1386. -- This is the CPS Science Teacher List. To unsubscribe, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information: <http://home.sprintmail.com/~mikelach/subscribe.html>. To search the archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/science%40lists.csi.cps.k12.il.us/>
