COMPARISON OF IRON STATUS BETWEEN BREAST FED AND NON BREAST FED INFANTS

Objective: The objective of this study is to compare the iron status of breast fed and non breast fed infants. study design Cross- sectional analytical study. Setting: This study was done in department of Pediatrics Medicine Services Hospital, Lahore. Duration with Dates: Twelve months (15-3-07 to 14-3-08) Methods: Hundred infants with age ranging from 4 to 6 months were selected. The patients were divided into two groups of 50 each. Group A included exclusively breast fed infants and group B included non breast fed infants. Both groups were assessed for iron status by specific investigations including hemoglobin level (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), RBC’s morphology, serum iron and ferritin levels. Results: The mean age of infants in group A was 5.5 + 0.7 months. Mean age of infants in group B was 5.6 + 0.7 months. Mean Hb of infants in group A was 12.69±0.61 g/dl and group B was 11.1±0.73 g/dl with statistically significant p value of < 0.05. Mean MCV of infants in group A was 91.9±3.5 fL and group B was 84.5±3.5 fL with p- value of < 0.05. Mean MCH of infants in group A was 29.8±0.89 pg and group B was 27.1±1.0 pg with p value of < 0.05.Mean MCHC of infants in group A was 35.4±1.9 g/dl and group B was 32.8±1.6 g/dl with p value of < 0.05. Mean serum iron of infants in group A was 26.27±2.8 micromole/l and group B was 19.66±3.3 micromole/l with p value of < 0.05. Mean serum ferritin of infants in group A was 118.6±12.5 microgram/l and in group B was 88.1±9.4 microgram/l with statistically significant p value of < 0.05. Conclusion: It is concluded from the study that exclusive breast feeding is sufficient to maintain adequate iron status in initial six months of infancy.