Anders Löfving1, Magnus Domellöf2, Lena Hellström-Westas3, Ola Andersson4,5. 1. Department of Pediatrics, Hospital of Halland, Halmstad, Sweden. 2. Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. 3. Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. 4. Department of Pediatrics, Hospital of Halland, Halmstad, Sweden. ola.andersson@kbh.uu.se. 5. Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. ola.andersson@kbh.uu.se.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Iron deficiency anemia in childhood is a serious public health problem worldwide. Reticulocyte hemoglobin content (Ret-He) is a novel biomarker of iron deficiency adopted for adults but there is a lack of reference intervals for Ret-He in infants. The aim of this study was to provide data from healthy infants. METHODS:Swedish infants (n = 456), born at term after normal pregnancies were included. Ret-He was measured at birth (umbilical cord sample), 48-72 h, 4 months, and 12 months. Reference intervals were calculated as ±2 standard deviations from the mean of Ret-He. RESULTS: Reference intervals for newborn Ret-He were 27.4 to 36.0 pg/L (N = 376) in the cord sample, 28.1-37.7 pg/L (N = 253) at 48-72 h, 25.6-33.4 pg/L (N = 341) at four months and 24.9-34.1 pg/L (N = 288) at 12 months. Ret-He was significantly lower among iron-deficient infants, at 4 months mean difference (95% CI) -4.2 pg/L (-6.1 to -2.4) and at 12 months mean difference (95% CI) -3.4 pg/L (-5.0 to -1.8). CONCLUSIONS: This longitudinal study presents Ret-He reference intervals based on non-anemic and non-iron-deficient infants and constitutes a step towards standardizing Ret-He as a pre-anemia biomarker of iron deficiency in children.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES:Irondeficiency anemia in childhood is a serious public health problem worldwide. Reticulocyte hemoglobin content (Ret-He) is a novel biomarker of iron deficiency adopted for adults but there is a lack of reference intervals for Ret-He in infants. The aim of this study was to provide data from healthy infants. METHODS: Swedish infants (n = 456), born at term after normal pregnancies were included. Ret-He was measured at birth (umbilical cord sample), 48-72 h, 4 months, and 12 months. Reference intervals were calculated as ±2 standard deviations from the mean of Ret-He. RESULTS: Reference intervals for newborn Ret-He were 27.4 to 36.0 pg/L (N = 376) in the cord sample, 28.1-37.7 pg/L (N = 253) at 48-72 h, 25.6-33.4 pg/L (N = 341) at four months and 24.9-34.1 pg/L (N = 288) at 12 months. Ret-He was significantly lower among iron-deficient infants, at 4 months mean difference (95% CI) -4.2 pg/L (-6.1 to -2.4) and at 12 months mean difference (95% CI) -3.4 pg/L (-5.0 to -1.8). CONCLUSIONS: This longitudinal study presents Ret-He reference intervals based on non-anemic and non-iron-deficient infants and constitutes a step towards standardizing Ret-He as a pre-anemia biomarker of iron deficiency in children.
Authors: Timothy M Bahr; Nicholas R Carr; Thomas R Christensen; Jacob Wilkes; Elizabeth A O'Brien; Kendell R German; Robin K Ohls; Diane M Ward; Robert D Christensen Journal: Blood Cells Mol Dis Date: 2021-05-06 Impact factor: 2.372
Authors: Sara Marie Larsson; Lena Hellström-Westas; Andreas Hillarp; Pia Karlsland Åkeson; Magnus Domellöf; Ulrica Askelöf; Cecilia Götherström; Ola Andersson Journal: Arch Dis Child Date: 2021-10-21 Impact factor: 3.791