ABSTRACT
Background: Iron deficiency causes abnormal dopaminergic neurotransmission and may contribute to behavioral disorders. Objective: Iron Profile Estimation in Children (5-14 yrs) of Behavioral Disorders. Design : Cross-sectional study. Setting: Child Guidance Clinic of University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital. The sample consisted of Forty children in the age group of 5 to 14 years suffering from behavioral disorders. Haemoglobin , Mean Corpuscular Volume, Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin, Serum Iron ,Total Iron Binding Capacity, Peripheral smear, Percentage transferrin saturation , serum ferritin estimations were done. The behavioral symptoms were scored on Achenback Child Behavior Checklist. Results: Iron deficiency anemia was present in 75% of the children with behavioral symptoms. Serum ferritin was abnormal (<20micrograms/litre) in 67.8% of the children. There was statistically significant association between pica and iron deficiency anemia(p<0.001).Serum ferrittin levels correlated negatively with behavioral symptoms (r=-.067), though not significant.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Anemia/complications , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/complications , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/psychology , Child , Child Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Child Behavior Disorders/blood , Child Behavior Disorders/psychology , Humans , Iron/analysis , Iron/blood , Iron/deficiency , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Of 50 preschool children having breath holding spells (M:F::3:1) (BHS), 80.0% were less than 18 months of age (mean age 16 +/- 5 mo). More children came from a lower social class (70.0%) and a nuclear family (64.0%). Seventy four per cent cases had onset of BHS within 12 months of age (mean 9.6 mo) and the commonest frequency was 1 to 3 spells per week (56.0%). Cyanosis and tonic-clonic spasms were seen in 96.0 and 84.0% cases, respectively. Anger and frustration were the common triggering factors in 90.0% cases. No ante-, peri- and postnatal factors were significantly associated with the study group as compared to the control cases. The mean scores on Behaviour Screening Questionnaire measuring child's habits related to feeding, toilet and sleep were not significantly different in the study and control groups but the difference was significant (p less than 0.05) for behaviour measuring child's social habits. Parental attitudes, measured on Attitude Screening Questionnaires, were also not significantly different in the study and control groups. Mean hemoglobin and percentage transferrin saturation were significantly lower in the study group as compared to the controls (p less than 0.001). There was a significant decrease in severity and frequency of spells with oral iron therapy.