Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32635675›Full record

SynthesisNutrients2020

The Role of Iron in Brain Development: A Systematic Review.

Samantha McCann, Marta Perapoch Amadó, Sophie E Moore

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Nutrients, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 112 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
112citing papers in PubMed, 13 pooled it
11.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

112 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 188 citations in OpenAlex.

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52 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Samantha McCannDepartment of Women and Children's Health, King's College London, London SE1 7EH, UK.
Marta Perapoch AmadóDepartment of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1650-3238
Sophie E MooreDepartment of Women and Children's Health, King's College London, London SE1 7EH, UK.
King's College London · GBUniversity College London · GB

Funding

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation OPP1127625Medical Research Council MC_PC_MR/R019177/1Medical Research Council MR/P012019/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

One-third of children falter in cognitive development by pre-school age. Iron plays an important role in many neurodevelopmental processes, and animal studies suggest that iron sufficiency in pregnancy and infancy is particularly important for neurodevelopment. However, it is not clear whether iron deficiency directly impacts developmental outcomes, and, if so, whether impact differs by timing of exposure or developmental domain. We searched four databases for studies on iron deficiency or iron supplementation in pregnancy, or at 0-6 months, 6-24 months, or 2-4 years of age. All studies included neurodevelopmental assessments in infants or children up to 4 years old. We then qualitatively synthesized the literature. There was no clear relationship between iron status and developmental outcomes across any of the time windows or domains included. We identified a large quantity of low-quality studies, significant heterogeneity in study design and a lack of research focused on pregnancy and early infancy. In summary, despite good mechanistic evidence for the role of iron in brain development, evidence for the impact of iron deficiency or iron supplementation on early development is inconsistent. Further high-quality research is needed, particularly within pregnancy and early infancy, which has previously been neglected.

Indexed as

Dietary SupplementsAdultAnemia, Iron-DeficiencyBrainChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornInfant Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaIronIron DeficienciesIron, DietaryMaleMaternal Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaNeurodevelopmental DisordersIronIron, Dietarybrain developmentcognitiveinfancyiron deficiencymotorpregnancypre-schoolsocio-emotional

Identifiers

PMID32635675
PMCPMC7400887
OpenAlexW3040175887

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.