{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T02:54:20Z","timestamp":1781578460915,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,31]],"date-time":"2024-07-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1722384000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001075","name":"Channel 7 Children\u2019s Research Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["CRF-210323"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CRF-210323"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001075","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001075","name":"Channel 7 Children\u2019s Research Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["APP2016756"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APP2016756"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001075","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001075","name":"Channel 7 Children\u2019s Research Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["ID2007800"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ID2007800"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001075","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000925","name":"National Health and Medical Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["CRF-210323"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CRF-210323"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000925","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000925","name":"National Health and Medical Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["APP2016756"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APP2016756"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000925","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000925","name":"National Health and Medical Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["ID2007800"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ID2007800"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000925","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Iron supplementation is commonly recommended for the prevention and treatment of maternal iron deficiency (ID) or iron deficiency anemia (IDA). However, the impacts of prophylactic of therapeutic prenatal iron supplementation on child neurodevelopment in upper middle-income (UMI) and high-income countries (HICs), where broad nutritional deficiencies are less common, are unclear. To investigate this, we conducted a systematic review, searching four databases (Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library) through 1 May 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing oral or intravenous iron supplementation in pregnant women reporting on child neurodevelopment (primary outcome: age-standardized cognitive scores) were eligible. We included three RCTs (five publications) from two HICs (Spain and Australia) (N = 935 children; N = 1397 mothers). Due to clinical heterogeneity of the RCTs, meta-analyses were not appropriate; findings were narratively synthesized. In non-anemic pregnant women, prenatal iron for prevention of IDA resulted in little to no difference in cognition at 40 days post-partum (1 RCT, 503 infants; very low certainty evidence). Similarly, the effect on the intelligence quotient at four years was very uncertain (2 RCTs, 509 children, very low certainty evidence). No RCTs for treatment of ID assessed offspring cognition. The effects on secondary outcomes related to language and motor development, or other measures of cognitive function, were unclear, except for one prevention-focused RCT (302 children), which reported possible harm for children\u2019s behavioral and emotional functioning at four years. There is no evidence from UMI countries and insufficient evidence from HICs to support or refute benefits or harms of prophylactic or therapeutic prenatal iron supplementation on child neurodevelopment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu16152499","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,31]],"date-time":"2024-07-31T17:16:49Z","timestamp":1722446209000},"page":"2499","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["The Effects of Prenatal Iron Supplementation on Offspring Neurodevelopment in Upper Middle- or High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3336-3153","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Najma A.","family":"Moumin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Women and Kids, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia"},{"name":"Discipline of Pediatrics, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emily","family":"Shepherd","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Women and Kids, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia"},{"name":"Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kai","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia"},{"name":"Lifelong Health, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3832-541X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria","family":"Makrides","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Women and Kids, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia"},{"name":"Discipline of Pediatrics, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jacqueline F.","family":"Gould","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Women and Kids, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia"},{"name":"Discipline of Pediatrics, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0667-4300","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tim J.","family":"Green","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Women and Kids, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia"},{"name":"College of Nursing and Allied Health, Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8554-4696","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luke E.","family":"Grzeskowiak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Women and Kids, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia"},{"name":"College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Saloojee, H., and Pettifor, J.M. 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