Higher Body Mass Index Is Associated with Iron Deficiency in Children 1 to 3 Years of Age

Objectives To examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and iron deficiency in early childhood, while considering the influence of low-grade systemic inflammation. Study design Healthy children ages 1-3 years were included in a cross-sectional analysis. Age- and sex-standardized World Health Organization BMI z score (zBMI) was calculated using height/length and weight measurements; iron status was assessed by serum ferritin; inflammation was assessed by C-reactive protein (CRP). Children with CRP ≥10 mg/L were excluded because this may indicate acute systemic inflammation. Adjusted multivariable regression analyses were used to investigate the association between zBMI and both serum ferritin(µg/L), and iron deficiency (serum ferritin1.0 mg/L to Results Of 1607 children included, 20% were categorized as with zBMI >1, 13% had iron deficiency, and 18% had low-grade inflammation. Higher zBMI was associated with lower serum ferritin(−1.51 µg/L, 95% CI −2.23, −0.76, P P  = .002). Though there was no interaction between zBMI and CRP for the adjusted linear regression model ( P  = .79) or logistic regression model ( P  = .43), children with low-grade inflammation had a higher serum ferritin( P Conclusions Higher zBMI is associated with increased risk for iron deficiency in children between 1 and 3 years, and should be considered as a risk factor in targeted screening. Further research is needed to better understand the relationship between serum ferritinand CRP for children in all weight categories. Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov : NCT01869530 .