Effect of iron supplementation in healthy exclusively breastfed infants: a systematic review and meta-analysis

作者：Ke Tian, Wenli Liu, Yi Huang, Rong Zhou, Yan Wang · 发表于：Frontiers in Pediatrics · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fped.2025.1587457 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Iron Metabolism and Disorders、Breastfeeding Practices and Influences、Hemoglobinopathies and Related Disorders

Background and objectives Exclusively breastfed infants are at risk of iron deficiency due to the low iron content in breast milk. This study aims to evaluate the benefits and risks of daily oral iron supplementation on growth, cognitive outcomes, and hematologic parameters in these infants. Methods Data sources include Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, and Embase from inception to December, 2024. Randomized controlled trials were included. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of included trials. The continuous outcomes were analyzed by calculating the mean difference (MD) and the binary categorical variables were analyzed using relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results This study included 8 trials (685 participants) comparing iron supplementation to no iron. At 6 months of age, compared to infants who were exclusively breastfed without iron supplementation, those who received oral iron supplementation showed an increase in hemoglobin (Hb) levels (MD 0.42, 95% CI 0.19–0.66, p < 0.001, I 2 = 76%) and a reduction in the incidence of iron deficiency (ID) (RR 0.38, 95% CI 0.15–1.00, p = 0.050, I 2 = 29%) and iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.40–0.84, p = 0.004, I 2 = 0). However, by 12 months of age, the supplementation had no effect on Hb levels, ID, the incidence of IDA or mental development index (MDI). Iron supplementation appeared to reduce weight gain (MD = −0.04, 95%CI −...