Cognition with or without iron supplement in anaemia during pregnancy

Back ground: Iron deficiency anaemia among pregnant women is the Global
public health problem & may affect cognition. & its prevalence is greater
than the prevalence of anemia Objective: To study cognitive functions among pregnant women with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and to see the effect of elemental Iron
Supplementation. Materials & Methods: An interventional (Before-After) study was conducted on 30 pregnant volunteers of 20-40 years of age with IDA (hemoglobin 7-10 g/dl, Ferritin < 12 ng/mL) enrolled at 14 weeks of gestation from the antenatal clinic of a tertiary care hospital. Cognitive functions (Mini Mental Status Examination Part I & II, P300) Serum ferritin, and Hemoglobin level were estimated before and after 16 weeks of 120 mg elemental iron therapy. Results: levels of Mean Hemoglobin and Serum Ferritin increased significantly (p<0.001) after iron therapy as compared to baseline. Cognitive functions as suggested by MMSE scores & P300 showed a statistically significant improvement (p<0.001 and p<0.01) after iron supplementation & It is significantly correlated with S. ferritin before and after treatment Conclusion: There is a significant correlation of Cognitive functions in pregnancy with Iron deficiency as indicated by decreased level of S. ferritin which improves after iron supplementation.