Trial reportPediatrics2016
Iron Supplementation in Pregnancy or Infancy and Motor Development: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Pediatrics, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Daily oral iron supplementation during pregnancy.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of iron intake on neurobehavioural outcomes in African children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Wellcome open research · 2021Pooled it
- The Role of Iron in Brain Development: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Acknowledging the gap: a systematic review of micronutrient supplementation in infants under six months of age.Wellcome open research · 2020Pooled it
- A systematic literature review of the relation between iron status/anemia in pregnancy and offspring neurodevelopment.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2019Pooled it
- The effect of universal maternal antenatal iron supplementation on neurodevelopment in offspring: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2018Pooled it
- Enteral Iron Supplementation in Infants Born Extremely Preterm and its Positive Correlation with Neurodevelopment; Post Hoc Analysis of the Preterm Erythropoietin Neuroprotection Trial Randomized Controlled Trial.The Journal of pediatrics · 2021Trial
- Does the fortified milk with high iron dose improve the neurodevelopment of healthy infants? Randomized controlled trial.BMC pediatrics · 2019Trial
- Timing, duration, and severity of iron deficiency in early development and motor outcomes at 9 months.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Global early-life cohorts for nutrition-neurodevelopment research including over 100 datasets representing over one million children.iScience · 2026Article
- Iron Supplementation and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Infancy and Early Childhood: A Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Effect of Oral Iron Therapy on Developmental Assessment Scores in Infants with Iron Deficiency Anemia.Indian journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Associations of maternal dietary iron intake during pregnancy with infant neurodevelopment: evidence from a prospective cohort study.Nutrition journal · 2025Article
- Lower iron stores were associated with suboptimal gross motor scores in infants at 3-7 months.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2022Article
- Adapting prenatal iron supplementation to maternal needs results in optimal child neurodevelopment: a follow-up of the ECLIPSES Study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Article
- Article
- Nutrition and Brain Development.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2022Article
- Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectiveInsufficient iron levels for optimal fetal and infant development is a concern during pregnancy and infancy. The goal of this study was to assess the effects of iron supplementation in pregnancy and/or infancy on motor development at 9 months.
methodsThe study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of infancy iron supplementation linked to an RCT of pregnancy iron supplementation, conducted in Hebei, China. A total of 1482 infants were randomly assigned to receive placebo (n = 730) or supplemental iron (n = 752) from 6 weeks to 9 months. Gross motor development (assessed by using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale, Second Edition, instrument) was the primary outcome. Neurologic integrity and motor quality were secondary outcomes.
resultsMotor outcome was available for 1196 infants, divided into 4 supplementation period groups: (1) placebo in pregnancy/placebo in infancy (n = 288); (2) placebo in pregnancy/iron in infancy (n = 305); (3) iron in pregnancy/placebo in infancy (n = 298); and (4) iron in pregnancy/iron in infancy (n = 305). Using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale, instrument, iron supplementation in infancy but not pregnancy improved gross motor scores: overall, P < .001; reflexes, P = .03; stationary, P < .001; and locomotion, P < .001. Iron supplementation in infancy improved motor scores by 0.3 SD compared with no supplementation or supplementation during pregnancy alone. Effects of iron supplementation in infancy alone were similar to effects with iron in both pregnancy and infancy.
conclusionsThe RCT design supports the causal inference that iron supplementation in infancy, with or without iron supplementation in pregnancy, improved gross motor test scores at 9 months.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.