{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T03:44:08Z","timestamp":1777866248862,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777507200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"NIH-NICHD","award":["R15HD095261"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R15HD095261"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The 2025\u20132030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that 6\u201312-month-old infants receive 11 mg iron\/day. The contribution of iron-rich foods in meeting guidelines is unclear. Objectives: The aims were to: (1) determine the contribution of iron-fortified cereal, infant formula and heme-iron sources to infants\u2019 total dietary iron intake; (2) examine differences in iron adequacy by milk-feeding type; and (3) identify feeding patterns associated with meeting daily iron requirements through dietary sources. Methods: Mothers of infants were recruited from a pediatric clinic and 24 h feeding recalls were conducted to estimate infants\u2019 iron intake. Infants\u2019 milk-feeding types were: breastmilk only (BF), mixed (MF), or infant formula only (FF). Main outcomes were: meeting\/not meeting daily iron requirement (11 mg) overall and by milk-feeding type; contribution of iron-fortified infant cereal, formula and meat to daily iron intake. Descriptive statistics, bivariate chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: Most participants identified as African American or Hispanic (76%) and were enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (84%). Thirty-nine percent consumed &lt; 11 mg iron\/day from dietary sources. By milk-feeding type, inadequate iron intake was significantly higher among the BF (72%) and MF (74%) groups vs. the FF group (24%, p &lt; 0.05). Iron-fortified cereals were consumed by 46% of infants and provided a median iron intake of 6.75 mg. Among the FF group, infant formula provided 63% of the daily iron requirement. Conclusions: Inadequate dietary iron intake is common. Iron-fortified cereal is an important dietary iron source. Future research is warranted to understand the relations among infants\u2019 daily iron intake, iron sources (heme vs. non-heme), and iron status.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18091417","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T08:03:47Z","timestamp":1777536227000},"page":"1417","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Dietary Iron Sources Among 9-Month-Old Infants from Low-Income Households"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Elizabeth F.","family":"Acquah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition, School of Health and Human Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jeffrey D.","family":"Labban","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 21201, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Seth M.","family":"Armah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition, School of Health and Human Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6427-4639","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maureen M.","family":"Black","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 27401, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7893-4012","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marjorie","family":"Jenkins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nursing Research Unit, Cone Health, Greensboro, NC 27401, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-3530-4997","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Deborah Clarice","family":"Andoh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition, School of Health and Human Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1408-8800","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jigna M.","family":"Dharod","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition, School of Health and Human Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108","DOI":"10.1017\/S0029665121002858","article-title":"Iron Deficiency during the First 1000 Days of Life: Are We Doing Enough to Protect the Developing Brain?","volume":"81","author":"McCarthy","year":"2022","journal-title":"Proc. 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