A pilot study on the changes of event‐related potentials in school‐aged children with iron deficiency anaemia

P300, a tool for cognitive assessment in women with iron deficiency anemia: A systematic review

Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is a common nutritional disorder and an important risk factor for the development of mild cognitive impairment that may progress to dementia, if untreated. The anemic status due to iron deficiency (ID) alters the electrogenesis in the central nervous system. P300 is a cognitive evoked potential (CEP) used as an objective tool to assess cognitive function. Mild cognitive impairment is indicated by prolonged P300 wave latency and reduced amplitude. IDA is highly prevalent among women particularly in the reproductive phase and data on cognitive assessment using P300 in them are sparse. This review aims to analyze the evidence from recent literature regarding the effect of IDA on evoked potentials like P300 in women. A systematic literature review was conducted and databases, like PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were searched for studies from the last 20 years. We selected research papers that compared P300 between anemic women and controls of the same age, and evaluated the effects of iron supplementation on P300 in anemic women. Based on the inclusion criteria, three studies were found. The studies demonstrated impaired P300 potentials in anemic women that improved following iron supplementation. Promoting screening of anemic women with P300 aids in the early detection of subclinical cognitive decline. Ensuring adequate iron treatment can prevent mild cognitive impairment from progressing to severe forms like dementia and other neuropsychological disorders. Further studies utilizing P300 as a cognitive tool need to be encouraged to establish definite conclusions regarding its efficacy in detecting cognitive dysfunctions in anemia.

Iron states and cognitive abilities in young adults: neuropsychological and neurophysiological assessment

Many investigators found that iron deficiency anemia (IDA) had a great influence on cognitive functions in infants and children. However, studies of such topic in adults are few and controversial. We prospectively assessed the possible influence of IDA and iron supplementation (for 3 months) on cognitive function and intelligence of 28 young adults with IDA. We used group of hematological, cognitive, neurophysiological tests for assessment including: mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Wechsler memory scale-revised (WMS-R), Wechsler adult intelligence scale-revised (WAIS-R), event-related potentials (ERPs), and electroencephalography (EEG). Compared to controls, patients demonstrated lower scores of different cognitive tests (MMSE, WMS-R, and WAIS-R), which showed significant improvement after treatment. Prolongation of ERPs latencies (N200 and P300) and reduction in their amplitudes (P200 and P300) were identified with significant increase in amplitude occurred after treatment. EEG abnormalities were observed in 55% of patients which showed improvement in 35% after treatment. Positive correlation was identified before and after treatment between hemoglobin levels and MMSE (P=0.01, 0.05), total verbal (P=0.04) and performance (P=0.05, 0.04) IQ scores. Negative correlation was identified between before and after treatment between P300 latency and total IQ of WAIS-R (P=0.03, 0.008) and hemoglobin level (P=0.4, 0.01). Positive correlation was found before and after treatment between P300 amplitude and total IQ (P=0.028, 0.01) and serum iron (P=0.01, 0.001). In conclusion, IDA is a significant factor in cognitive performance in adult population, which can be partially reversed by treatment.