الفهرس 
Maternal Iron Deficiency AnemiaOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide during pregnancy. Iron is crucial for fetal brain development; however, there are insufficient data regarding the effects of maternal iron deficiency anemia (IDA) on auditory neural maturation. Aim: To evaluate the effect of maternal IDA in the last trimester on auditory neural myelination in full term neonates. Methods: This prospective case-control study was conducted at Ain Shams University Hospitals and included 100 neonates. Out of 223 pregnant women, 50 were diagnosed as having IDA and 50 healthy mothers were enrolled as controls. Neonates were studied focusing on anthropometric measures, hematologic profiles and iron status. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) test was done for the studied neonates within 48 hours after birth and at 3 months. Results: Hemoglobin and iron profile were significantly lower in neonates born to anemic mothers compared with controls. Out of 100 neonates screened for ABR, 25 failed the test (all of them were born to anemic mothers). The percentage of ABR failure results were significantly higher in neonates born to anemic mothers compared to controls (50% versus 5%; p <0.001). The majority of neonates (88%) who failed the screening ABR test had latent iron deficiency (cord blood ferritin 11-75 µg/L). After 3 months, 85 underwent diagnostic ABR testwhich revealed significantly prolonged interpeak latencies I-III, III-V and I-V among neonates of anemic mothers compared with the non-anemic group. All interpeak latencies were more prolonged in neonates with latent iron deficiency and those born to mothers with serum ferritin <15 µg/L. Logistic regression analysis showed that maternal hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume could predict neonatal ABR results. ROC curve analysis revealed that the cutoff value of maternal Hb≤9.2 g/dL could predict failed ABR results among neonates of anemic mothers with 88% sensitivity and 92% specificity. Conclusions: IDA during late pregnancy adversely affects both cord blood iron and hearing status. ABR results are closely related to the severity of maternal and neonatal iron status. Antenatal screening of pregnant mothers is recommended to prevent abnormal auditory maturation in their neonates.