Doctors have long recommended iron supplements for the support of a healthy pregnancy, but recent research adds even more weight to the sage advice: By increasing her iron intake, a pregnant woman may also decrease her baby's risk of schizophrenia later in life.
Doctors have long recommended iron supplements for the support of a healthy pregnancy, but recent research adds even more weight to the sage advice: By increasing her iron intake, a pregnant woman may also decrease her baby's risk of schizophrenia later in life.
Children of mothers who had been diagnosed with anaemia during pregnancy, most likely due to iron deficiency, had a significantly elevated risk of developing the mental disorder.
Iron is necessary for the production of haemoglobin, a protein that distributes oxygen throughout the body. Because a pregnant woman carries an additional set of organs and tissues - and almost 50 percent more blood - she needs extra iron to ensure that enough oxygen gets around.
Maternal iron deficiency may disrupt essential pathways that affect the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus. Earlier research has suggested that a failure to meet the iron demands of a developing brain might heighten a child's vulnerability to disorders such as schizophrenia.
To further investigate this potential link, researchers analyaed the psychiatric outcomes of a large group of Danish children born between 1978 and 1998. Each child was followed from age 10 until the onset of schizophrenia, death or the study's closure on December 31, 2008. Among 1,115,752 newborns, 17,940 (1.6 percent) were exposed to anemia in the womb. A total of 3,422 - including 41 from the exposed group - went on to develop schizophrenia.
After accounting for differences between the two groups and other relevant factors, including the parents' ages and history of mental illness, exposure to anaemia in the womb was associated with a 60 percent increased risk of schizophrenia in offspring during the 20 years of the study.
The researchers concluded that 0.58 percent of schizophrenia cases (a total of about 20 diagnoses) could have been prevented had there been no cases of anaemia among the mothers. As reported previously, researchers have found that exposure to particularly serious cases of anaemia increased an offspring's risk of schizophrenia about four-fold. Lower the haemoglobin level, the greater the risk of schizophrenia.
Despite its unresolved relationship with schizophrenia, prevention and treatment of maternal anaemia remains straightforward.
Children of mothers who had been diagnosed with anaemia during pregnancy, most likely due to iron deficiency, had a significantly elevated risk of developing the mental disorder.
Iron is necessary for the production of haemoglobin, a protein that distributes oxygen throughout the body. Because a pregnant woman carries an additional set of organs and tissues - and almost 50 percent more blood - she needs extra iron to ensure that enough oxygen gets around.
Maternal iron deficiency may disrupt essential pathways that affect the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus. Earlier research has suggested that a failure to meet the iron demands of a developing brain might heighten a child's vulnerability to disorders such as schizophrenia.
To further investigate this potential link, researchers analyaed the psychiatric outcomes of a large group of Danish children born between 1978 and 1998. Each child was followed from age 10 until the onset of schizophrenia, death or the study's closure on December 31, 2008. Among 1,115,752 newborns, 17,940 (1.6 percent) were exposed to anemia in the womb. A total of 3,422 - including 41 from the exposed group - went on to develop schizophrenia.
After accounting for differences between the two groups and other relevant factors, including the parents' ages and history of mental illness, exposure to anaemia in the womb was associated with a 60 percent increased risk of schizophrenia in offspring during the 20 years of the study.
The researchers concluded that 0.58 percent of schizophrenia cases (a total of about 20 diagnoses) could have been prevented had there been no cases of anaemia among the mothers. As reported previously, researchers have found that exposure to particularly serious cases of anaemia increased an offspring's risk of schizophrenia about four-fold. Lower the haemoglobin level, the greater the risk of schizophrenia.
Despite its unresolved relationship with schizophrenia, prevention and treatment of maternal anaemia remains straightforward.
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