Micronutrient deficiencies and cognitive functioning
Open accessAbstract
The relationship between four micronutrient deficiencies (iodine, iron, zinc and vitamin B-12) and children's cognitive functioning is reviewed. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy has negative and irreversible effects on the developing fetus. Although there is some evidence that postnatal iodine deficiency is associated with cognitive deficits, the findings are controversial. Iron deficiency is widespread and has been associated to cognitive deficits, but the results of prevention trials are inconsistent. Zinc deficiency has been linked with low activity and depressed motor development among the most vulnerable children. Associations with cognitive development are less clear and may be limited to specific neuropsychological processes. Vitamin B-12 deficiency has been associated with cognitive problems among the elderly, but little is known about its effect on children's cognitive functioning. Rates of vitamin B-12 deficiency are likely to be high because animal products are the only source of vitamin B-12. Although micronutrient deficiencies often co-occur in the context of poverty, little is known about the impact of multiple micronutrient deficiencies on cognitive development.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Another mechanism may be through functional isolation in which the effect of vitamin B-12 on neurodevelopment may be mediated by factors such as enhanced activity concentrations in children and consequently enhanced stimulation and learning possibilities provided by the caregivers.
“Another mechanism may be through functional isolation in which the effect of vitamin B-12 on neurodevelopment may be mediated by factors such as enhanced activity concentrations in children and consequently enhanced stimulation and learning possibilities provided by the caregivers (40).”
From Vitamin B-12 status in infancy is positively associated with development and cognitive functioning 5 y later in Nepalese children (2017) · cites this paper as [40]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Long-term developmental outcome of infants with iron deficiency
Lozoff, B., Jimenez, E., & Wolf, A. W. (1991) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm199109053251004 · Cited by 1,009 · see citing works
Bhutta, Z. A., Black, R. E., Brown, K. H., Gardner, J. M., Gore, S., Hidayat, A., Khatun, F., Martorell, R., Ninh, N. X., Penny, M. E., et al. (1999) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(99)70086-7 · Cited by 731 · see citing works
Brown, K. H., Peerson, J. M., Rivera, J. Á., & Allen, L. H. (2002) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/75.6.1062 · Cited by 704 · see citing works
Halterman, J. S., Kaczorowski, J. M., Aligne, C. A., Auinger, P., & Szilagyi, P. G. (2001) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.107.6.1381 · Cited by 672 · see citing works
Iron Deficiency Alters Brain Development and Functioning
Beard, J. (2003) · Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1093/jn/133.5.1468s · Cited by 534 · see citing works
Iron Deficiency Anemia: Adverse Effects on Infant Psychomotor Development
Walter, T., Isidora De Andraca, O., Patricia Chadud, M., & Perales, C. G. (1989) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.84.1.7 · Cited by 502 · see citing works
Reversal of developmental delays in iron-deficient anaemic infants treated with iron
Idjradinata, P. S., & Pollitt, E. (1993) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/0140-6736(93)92477-b · Cited by 489 · see citing works
Iron Deficiency Anemia and Iron Therapy Effects on Infant Developmental Test Performance
Lozoff, B., Brittenham, G. M., Wolf, A. W., McClish, D. K., Kuhnert, P. M., Jiménez, E., Jiménez, R., Mora, L., Gómez, I. C., & Krauskoph, D. (1987) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.79.6.981 · Cited by 465 · see citing works
Treatment with iron increases weight gain and psychomotor development.
Aukett, M. A., Parks, Y. A., Scott, P., & Wharton, B. A. (1986) · Archives of Disease in Childhood · doi:10.1136/adc.61.9.849 · Cited by 361 · see citing works
Stoltzfus, R. J., Kvalsvig, J. D., Chwaya, H. M., Montresor, A., Albonico, M., Tielsch, J. M., Savioli, L., & Pollitt, E. (2001) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7326.1389 · Cited by 307 · see citing works
Zinc deficiency and child development
Black, M. M. (1998) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/68.2.464s · Cited by 306 · see citing works
Self-citationBehavior of Infants with Iron-Deficiency Anemia
Lozoff, B., Klein, N. K., Nelson, E. C., McClish, D. K., Manuel, M., & Chacon, M. E. (1998) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06130.x · Cited by 263 · see citing works
Briefel, R. R., Bialostosky, K., Kennedy-Stephenson, J., McDowell, M. A., Ervin, R. B., & Wright, J. D. (2000) · The Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1093/jn/130.5.1367s · Cited by 252 · see citing works
Sandstead, H. H., Penland, J. G., Alcock, N. W., Dayal, H. H., Chen, X. C., Li, J. S., Zhao, F., & Jia, Y. (1998) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/68.2.470s · Cited by 250 · see citing works
Gibson, R. S., Vanderkooy, P., MacDonald, A. C., et al. (1989) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/49.6.1266 · Cited by 248 · see citing works
Levitsky, D. A., & Barnes, R. H. (1972) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.176.4030.68 · Cited by 246 · see citing works
Iron Deficiency: Contemporary Scientific Issues and International Programmatic Approaches
Yip, R. (1994) · Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1093/jn/124.suppl_8.1479s · Cited by 238 · see citing works
The Damaged Brain of Iodine Deficiency
Dodge, P. R. (1996) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/63.4.615-a · Cited by 231 · see citing works
Sandstead, H. H. (1991) · American journal of diseases of children · doi:10.1001/archpedi.1991.02160080029016 · Cited by 226 · see citing works
Early childhood anemia and mild or moderate mental retardation
Hurtado, E. K., Claussen, A. H., & Scott, K. G. (1999) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/69.1.115 · Cited by 222 · see citing works
Nutritional factors in physical and cognitive functions of elderly people
Rosenberg, I. H., & Miller, J. (1992) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/55.6.1237s · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Sazawal, S., Black, R. E., Menon, V. P., Dinghra, P., Caulfield, L. E., Dhingra, U., & Bagati, A. (2001) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.108.6.1280 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Zinc Supplementation in Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants
Friel, J. K., Andrews, W. L., Matthew, J. D., et al. (1993) · Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition · doi:10.1097/00005176-199307000-00015 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
MOFFATT, M. E. K., Longstaffe, S. E. A., Besant, J., & Dureski, C. M. (1994) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(94)70003-6 · Cited by 183 · see citing works
Signs of impaired cognitive function in adolescents with marginal cobalamin status
Louwman, M. W., van Dusseldorp, M., van de Vijver, F. J., Thomas, C. M., Schneede, J., Ueland, P. M., Refsum, H., & van Staveren, W. A. (2000) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/72.3.762 · Cited by 178 · see citing works
Siekmann, J. H., Allen, L. H., Bwibo, N. O., Demment, M. W., Murphy, S. P., & Neumann, C. G. (2003) · Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1093/jn/133.11.3972s · Cited by 175 · see citing works
The role of care in nutrition programmes: current research and a research agenda
Engle, P. L., Bentley, M. E., & Pelto, G. H. (2000) · Proceedings of The Nutrition Society · doi:10.1017/s0029665100000045 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Zinc Supplementation Affects the Activity Patterns of Rural Guatemalan Infants , ,
Bentley, M. E., Caulfield, L. E., Ram, M., et al. (1997) · Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1093/jn/127.7.1333 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Ashworth, A., Morris, S. S., Lira, P., et al. (1998) · European Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1600553 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Kirksey, A., Wachs, T., Yunis, F. A., Srinath, U., Rahmanifar, A., McCabe, G. P., Galal, O., Harrison, G. G., & Jerome, N. (1994) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/60.5.782 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Hamadani, J. D., Fuchs, G. J., Osendarp, S. J. M., Huda, S. N., & Grantham‐McGregor, S. (2002) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)09551-x · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Effect of Zinc Supplementation on Observed Activity in Low Socioeconomic Indian Preschool Children
Sazawal, S., Bentley, M. E., Black, R. E., et al. (1996) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.98.6.1132 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Martins, S., Logan, S., & Gilbert, R. E. (2001) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd001444 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Morley, R., Abbott, R. A., Fairweather‐Tait, S. J., MacFadyen, U. M., Stephenson, T. J., & Lucas, A. (1999) · Archives of Disease in Childhood · doi:10.1136/adc.81.3.247 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Hamadani, J. D., Fuchs, G. J., Osendarp, S. J. M., Khatun, F., Huda, S. N., & Grantham‐McGregor, S. (2001) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/74.3.381 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Longitudinal Study of Nutrient and Food Intakes of Infants Aged 2 to 24 Months
Skinner, J. D., Carruth, B. R., HOUCK, K. S., et al. (1997) · Journal of the American Dietetic Association · doi:10.1016/s0002-8223(97)00129-6 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Williams, J., Wolff, A. L., Daly, A., MacDonald, A., Aukett, A., Booth, I. W., & Logan, S. (1999) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.318.7185.693 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Adding zinc to prenatal iron and folate tablets improves fetal neurobehavioral development
Merialdi, M., Caulfield, L. E., Zavaleta, N., et al. (1999) · American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology · doi:10.1016/s0002-9378(99)70236-x · Cited by 105 · see citing works
The role of micronutrients in psychomotor and cognitive development
Grantham‐McGregor, S., & Ani, C. C. (1999) · British Medical Bulletin · doi:10.1258/0007142991902583 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Effect of zinc supplementation on development and growth of Chilean infants
Castillo‐Durán, C., Perales, C. G., Hertrampf, E., Marín, V. B., Rivera, F., & Icaza, G. (2001) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1067/mpd.2001.110530 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Schneede, J., Dagnelie, P. C., Van Staveren, W. A., Vollset, S. E., Refsum, H., & Ueland, P. M. (1994) · Pediatric Research · doi:10.1203/00006450-199408000-00010 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Penland, J. G., Sandstead, H. H., Alcock, N. W., Dayal, H. H., Chen, X. C., Li, J. S., Zhao, F., & Yang, J. J. (1997) · Journal of the American College of Nutrition · doi:10.1080/07315724.1997.10718684 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Huda, S. N., Grantham‐McGregor, S., Rahman, K. M., & Tomkins, A. M. (1999) · Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1093/jn/129.5.980 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Effects of iodine supplementation during pregnancy on child growth and development at school age
O’Donnell, K. J., Rakeman, M. A., Dou, Z.-H., Cao, X., Mei, Z. Y., DeLong, N., Brenner, G., Tai, M., Dong, W., & DeLong, G. R. (2002) · Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology · doi:10.1017/s0012162201001712 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Tamura, T., Goldenberg, R. L., Ramey, S. L., et al. (2003) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/77.6.1512 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
The Effects of Early Adversity on Neurobehavioral Development
Nelson, C. A. (2000) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781410605344 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Nutritional vitamin B12 deficiency in an infant
Lampkin, B. C., & Saunders, E. F. (1969) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(69)80347-1 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Behavioral effects of iron supplementation in infants in Madang, Papua New Guinea
Heywood, A., Oppenheimer, S., Heywood, P., & Jolley, D. (1989) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/50.3.630 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Iodine Deficiency — The Next Target for Elimination?
Dunn, J. T. (1992) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm199201233260411 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Zinc Metabolism and Requirements
Hambidge, M., & Krebs, N. F. (2001) · Food and Nutrition Bulletin · doi:10.1177/156482650102200202 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Micronutrient status of Kenyan school children: response to meat, milk, or energy supplementation
Siekmann, J., Allen, L. H., Bwibo, N., et al. (2003) · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Halpern, J. (1994) The neuromotor deficit in endemic cretinism and its implications for the pathogenesis of the disorder. In: The Damaged Brain of Iodine Deficiency (Stanbury, J. B., ed.), pp. 15-24. Cognizant Communication, Elmsford, NY.
- Ferald, L. (1998) Iodine deficiency and mental development. In: Nutrition, Health, and Child Development Recent Advances and Policy Recom- mendations (Grantham-McGregor, S. M., ed.), pp. 234-255. Pan American Health Organization, Washington, D.C. 11. Bleichrodt, N. & Resing, W. (1994) Measuring intelligence and learning potential in iodine-deficient and noniodine deficient populations. In: The Damaged Brain of Iodine Deficiency (Stanbury, J. B., ed.), pp. 27-36.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Maternal lifestyle and environmental risk factors for autism spectrum disorders
Lyall, K., Schmidt, R. J., & Hertz-Picciotto, I. (2014) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dyt282 · Cited by 427 · see citing works
Household Food Insecurity: Associations With At-Risk Infant and Toddler Development
Rose-Jacobs, R., Black, M. M., Casey, P. H., Cook, J. T., Cutts, D. B., Chilton, M., Heeren, T., Levenson, S. M., Meyers, A. F., & Frank, D. A. (2008) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2006-3717 · Cited by 345 · see citing works
Self-citationFood Insecurity, Health, and Development in Children Under Age Four Years
Drennen, C. R., Coleman, S. M., Ettinger de Cuba, S., Frank, D. A., Chilton, M., Cook, J. T., Cutts, D. B., Heeren, T., Casey, P. H., & Black, M. M. (2019) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2019-0824 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Self-citationStrand, T. A., Taneja, S., Ueland, P. M., Refsum, H., Bahl, R., Schneede, J., Sommerfelt, H., & Bhandari, N. (2013) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.3945/ajcn.111.032268 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Warthon-Medina, M., Moran, V. H., Stammers, A.-L., Dillon, S., Qualter, P., Nissensohn, M., Serra-Majem, L., & Lowe, N. M. (2015) · European Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1038/ejcn.2015.60 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Kvestad, I., Hysing, M., Shrestha, M., Ulak, M., Thorne-Lyman, A. L., Henjum, S., Ueland, P. M., Midttun, Ø., Fawzi, W., Chandyo, R. K., et al. (2017) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.3945/ajcn.116.144931 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
White, D., Cox, K., Peters, R., Pipingas, A., & Scholey, A. (2015) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu7115451 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Apte, A., & Pahan, J. (2023) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1136912 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Black, M. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
- Corresponding author
- Black, Maureen M.
- ORCID
- Black, Maureen M.
- Venue
- The Journal of Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2003-11
- Volume
- 133
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 3927S-3931S
- ISSN
- 0022-3166 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3140638
- OpenAlex
- W1962658604
- Cited by
- 438
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 9.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- United States Agency for International Development (PCE-G-00-98-00036-00)
- Gerber Foundation
- University of California, Davis
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01 HD374430, R01HD037430)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Trace Elements in Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Iron Metabolism and Disorders
- Keywords
- micronutrient deficiency, cognitive development, iodine deficiency, iron deficiency, zinc deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency, children, pregnancy, motor development, multiple micronutrient deficiencies, poverty
- MeSH terms
- Iron Deficiencies, Child, Child Development, Cognition, Developing Countries, Diet, Humans, Iodine, Vitamin B Deficiency, Vitamin B 12, Zinc, Micronutrients
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
