iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in children with first attack of seizure and on healthy control group: a comparative study

how to cite this article: fallah r, tirandazi f, ferdosian f, fadavi n. iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in children with first attack of seizure and on healthy control group : a comparative study. iran j child neurol. 2014 summer;8(3): 18-23.   abstract objective seizures are the most common pediatric neurologic problem. research of the association between iron deficiency and seizures has shown conflicting results. this study evaluates iron status of children with a first seizure attack (febrile seizure (fs) or first unprovoked afebrile seizure (fus) and healthy control group. materials & methods in a cross sectional case control study, iron status of 6–60 month year old admitted children with first seizure to shahid sadoughi hospital from august 2011–december 2012 were evaluated and compared with healthy control children that were referred to primary health care center of azadshar, yazd, iran. results 150 children were compared in three equal (fs, afebrile seizure, and control) groups. hemoglobin levels in fus (11.39 ± 1.07 g/dl) and fs (11.46 ± 1.18 g/dl) were lower than the control group (11.9 ± 0.89 g/dl) group. serum iron levels in fs (38.52 ± 11.38 μg/dl) and fus (42.68 ± 14.76 μg/dl) were lower than the control group (54.32 ± 13.46 μg/dl). serum ferritin level in fus (46.21 ± 27.63 ng/ml) and fs (48.91 ±22.96 ng/ml) was lower than the control group (75.13 ± 35.57 ng/ml). iron deficiency (48% in fs, 44% in fus and 28% in control group) and iron deficiency anemia (26% in fus, 22% in fs, and 10% in healthy children) was more frequent in children with seizures. conclusion iron status should be evaluated in children with a first attack of febrile or afebrile seizures. references mikati ma. seizures in childhood. kliegman rm, stanton bf, schor nf, st. geme jw, behrman re. nelson textbook of pediatrics. philadelphia, saunders 2011; 19 th edition, pp: 2013-2017. yadav d, chandra j. iron deficiency: beyond anemia. indian j pediatr 2011;78(1):65-72. johnston mv. iron deficiency, febrile seizures and brain development. indian pediatr 2012;49(1):13-4. idro r, gwer s, williams tn, otieno t, uyoga s, fegan g, kager pa, maitland k, kirkham f, neville bg, newton cr. iron deficiency and acute seizures: results from children living in rural kenya and a meta-analysis. plos one 2010 16; 5(11):e14001. carvalho ag, lira pi, barros mde f, aléssio ml, lima mde c, carbonneau ma, berger j, léger cl. diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in children of northeast brazil. rev saude publica. 2010; 44(3):513-9. kumari pl, nair mk, nair sm, kailas l, geetha s. iron deficiency as a risk factor for simple febrile seizures—a case control study. indian pediatr 2012; 49(1):17-9. van vranken m. evaluation of microcytosis. am fam physician 2010; 82(9):1117-22. morales-ruán mdel c, villalpando s, garcía-guerra a, shamah-levy t, robledo-pérez r, avila-arcos ma, rivera ja. iron, zinc, copper and magnesium nutritional status in mexican children aged 1 to 11 years. salud publica mex 2012; 54(2):125-34. modaresi m, mahmoudian t, yaghini o, kelishadi r, golestani h, tavasoli a, et al. is iron insufficiency associated with febrile seizure? 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