title: [The significance of iron in infant development and nutrition. I. Metabolism of iron].
abstract: The role of iron in the child organism, as well as the blood's role in regulating the iron homeostasis is described on the basis of relevant literature. From developmental data on Warsaw children and from relevant literature, the child average body iron content and the child average daily iron requirement, which is at age 0-0.5, 0.5-1 and 1-2 years 0.51, 0.92 and 0.76 mg for boys and for girls 0.42, 0.86 and 0.74 mg respectively, are calculated. It is noted that the daily physiological iron loss during the first two years of life can be as much as 50% of the daily iron requirement. Among the causes of infant iron deficiency are the greater blood losses during the peri- and postnatal periods, decreased dietary iron, as well as increased need for iron related to significant body growth. The loss of one ml of blood in children results in the loss of from 0.33 to 0.66 mg of iron. On the basis of the changes in body iron content of infants having various birth weights, it is shown that the quantity of iron needed for proper development is independent of the birth weight. The quantity of iron required by premature infants and children with low birth weight is 25-50% greater, after the infant doubles its birth weight, than that needed by full-term and normal birth weight infants.
authors.affiliation: Klinika Gastroenterologii i Alergologii Dzieciecej Akademii Medycznej w Lodzi.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wasowska-Królikowska
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Baranowski
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008297:Male; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D007501:Iron