Cognitive functioning improved by correcting anemia in young women
Clinical Question
Does treatment improve cognitive abilities in young women with iron deficiency anemia?
Bottom Line
Women with iron deficiency anemia, on average, perform worse on cognitive tests than women who have sufficient iron stores. Treatment over 4 months improved measures of cognitive performance (accuracy), as well as the speed of performing the tasks. (LOE = 1b)
Reference
Murray-Kolb LE, Beard JL. Iron treatment normalizes cognitive functioning in young women. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:778-787. [PMID:17344500]
Study Design
Randomized controlled trial (double-blinded)
Funding
Unknown/not stated
Allocation
Uncertain
Setting
Outpatient (any)
Synopsis
The investigators recruited 152 college-aged women (average age = 21 years) to participate in this study. Based on a screening of hemoglobin and calculated total body iron, the women were characterized as iron sufficient; nonanemic, but with iron deficiency; or anemic due to iron deficiency. The women in each of the 3 groups were randomly assigned (uncertain allocation concealment) to receive placebo or 60 mg elemental iron daily for 4 months. Cognition, memory, and learning were measured and the time needed to complete the tasks was evaluated before the intervention and again at 4 months. Before the intervention, women with iron deficiency anemia performed significantly worse than iron-sufficient women with regard to performance and time to complete the tasks. Using factor analysis to evaluate the effect of treatment on hematologic parameters and measures of cognitive functioning, an improvement in serum ferritin was associated with an improvement in cognitive performance, and a significant improvement in hemoglobin increased speed in completing the cognitive tasks.
Citation
Barry, Henry, et al., editors. "Cognitive Functioning Improved By Correcting Anemia in Young Women." EE+ POEM Archive, John Wiley & Sons, 2019. Evidence Central, evidence.unboundmedicine.com/evidence/view/infoPOEMs/426612/all/Cognitive_functioning_improved_by_correcting_anemia_in_young_women.
Cognitive functioning improved by correcting anemia in young women. In: Barry HH, Ebell MHM, Shaughnessy AFA, et al, eds. EE+ POEM Archive. John Wiley & Sons; 2019. https://evidence.unboundmedicine.com/evidence/view/infoPOEMs/426612/all/Cognitive_functioning_improved_by_correcting_anemia_in_young_women. Accessed November 29, 2023.
Cognitive functioning improved by correcting anemia in young women. (2019). In Barry, H., Ebell, M. H., Shaughnessy, A. F., & Slawson, D. C. (Eds.), EE+ POEM Archive. John Wiley & Sons. https://evidence.unboundmedicine.com/evidence/view/infoPOEMs/426612/all/Cognitive_functioning_improved_by_correcting_anemia_in_young_women
Cognitive Functioning Improved By Correcting Anemia in Young Women [Internet]. In: Barry HH, Ebell MHM, Shaughnessy AFA, Slawson DCD, editors. EE+ POEM Archive. John Wiley & Sons; 2019. [cited 2023 November 29]. Available from: https://evidence.unboundmedicine.com/evidence/view/infoPOEMs/426612/all/Cognitive_functioning_improved_by_correcting_anemia_in_young_women.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Cognitive functioning improved by correcting anemia in young women
ID - 426612
ED - Barry,Henry,
ED - Ebell,Mark H,
ED - Shaughnessy,Allen F,
ED - Slawson,David C,
BT - EE+ POEM Archive
UR - https://evidence.unboundmedicine.com/evidence/view/infoPOEMs/426612/all/Cognitive_functioning_improved_by_correcting_anemia_in_young_women
PB - John Wiley & Sons
DB - Evidence Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -