Modeling relationships between iron status, behavior, and brain electrophysiology: Evidence from a randomized study involving a biofortified grain in Indian adolescents

Background: Iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are highly-prevalent nutrient deficiencies and have been shown to have a range of negative effects on cognition and brain function. Human intervention studies including measures at three levels—blood, brain, and behavior—are rare and...

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Main Authors: Wenger, Michael J., Murray-Kolb, Laura E., Scott, Samuel P., Boy, Erick, Haas, Jere D.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141262
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author Wenger, Michael J.
Murray-Kolb, Laura E.
Scott, Samuel P.
Boy, Erick
Haas, Jere D.
author_browse Boy, Erick
Haas, Jere D.
Murray-Kolb, Laura E.
Scott, Samuel P.
Wenger, Michael J.
author_facet Wenger, Michael J.
Murray-Kolb, Laura E.
Scott, Samuel P.
Boy, Erick
Haas, Jere D.
author_sort Wenger, Michael J.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Background: Iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are highly-prevalent nutrient deficiencies and have been shown to have a range of negative effects on cognition and brain function. Human intervention studies including measures at three levels—blood, brain, and behavior—are rare and our objective was to model the relationships among measures at these three levels in school-going Indian adolescents. Methods: Male and female adolescents in rural India were screened for ID/IDA. Subjects consumed 2 meals/day for 6 months; half were randomly assigned to consume meals made from a standard grain (pearl millet) and half consumed meals made from an iron biofortified pearl millet (BPM). Prior to and then at the conclusion of the feeding trial, they completed a set of cognitive tests with concurrent electroencephalography (EEG). Results: Overall, serum ferritin (sFt) levels improved over the course of the study. Ten of 21 possible measures of cognition showed improvements from baseline (BL) to endline (EL) that were larger for those consuming BPM than for those consuming the comparison pearl millet (CPM). Critically, the best model for the relationship between change in iron status and change in cognition had change in brain measures as a mediating factor, with both change in serum ferritin as a primary predictor and change in hemoglobin as a moderator. Conclusions: A dietary intervention involving a biofortified staple grain was shown to be efficacious in improving blood iron biomarkers, behavioral measures of cognition, and EEG measures of brain function. Modeling the relationships among these variables strongly suggests multiple mechanisms by which blood iron level affects brain function and cognition.
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spelling CGSpace1412622025-10-26T13:02:06Z Modeling relationships between iron status, behavior, and brain electrophysiology: Evidence from a randomized study involving a biofortified grain in Indian adolescents Wenger, Michael J. Murray-Kolb, Laura E. Scott, Samuel P. Boy, Erick Haas, Jere D. electroencephalography anaemia memory pearl millet cognition adolescents biofortification trace element deficiencies nutrient deficiencies brain blood iron behaviour Background: Iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are highly-prevalent nutrient deficiencies and have been shown to have a range of negative effects on cognition and brain function. Human intervention studies including measures at three levels—blood, brain, and behavior—are rare and our objective was to model the relationships among measures at these three levels in school-going Indian adolescents. Methods: Male and female adolescents in rural India were screened for ID/IDA. Subjects consumed 2 meals/day for 6 months; half were randomly assigned to consume meals made from a standard grain (pearl millet) and half consumed meals made from an iron biofortified pearl millet (BPM). Prior to and then at the conclusion of the feeding trial, they completed a set of cognitive tests with concurrent electroencephalography (EEG). Results: Overall, serum ferritin (sFt) levels improved over the course of the study. Ten of 21 possible measures of cognition showed improvements from baseline (BL) to endline (EL) that were larger for those consuming BPM than for those consuming the comparison pearl millet (CPM). Critically, the best model for the relationship between change in iron status and change in cognition had change in brain measures as a mediating factor, with both change in serum ferritin as a primary predictor and change in hemoglobin as a moderator. Conclusions: A dietary intervention involving a biofortified staple grain was shown to be efficacious in improving blood iron biomarkers, behavioral measures of cognition, and EEG measures of brain function. Modeling the relationships among these variables strongly suggests multiple mechanisms by which blood iron level affects brain function and cognition. 2022-07-06 2024-04-12T13:37:34Z 2024-04-12T13:37:34Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141262 en https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.117.255356 http://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13897-0 Open Access Springer Wenger, Michael J.; Murray-Kolb, Laura E.; Scott, Samuel; Boy, Erick; and Haas, Jere D. 2022. Modeling relationships between iron status, behavior, and brain electrophysiology: Evidence from a randomized study involving a biofortified grain in Indian adolescents. BMC Public Health 22: 1299. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13612-z
spellingShingle electroencephalography
anaemia
memory
pearl millet
cognition
adolescents
biofortification
trace element deficiencies
nutrient deficiencies
brain
blood
iron
behaviour
Wenger, Michael J.
Murray-Kolb, Laura E.
Scott, Samuel P.
Boy, Erick
Haas, Jere D.
Modeling relationships between iron status, behavior, and brain electrophysiology: Evidence from a randomized study involving a biofortified grain in Indian adolescents
title Modeling relationships between iron status, behavior, and brain electrophysiology: Evidence from a randomized study involving a biofortified grain in Indian adolescents
title_full Modeling relationships between iron status, behavior, and brain electrophysiology: Evidence from a randomized study involving a biofortified grain in Indian adolescents
title_fullStr Modeling relationships between iron status, behavior, and brain electrophysiology: Evidence from a randomized study involving a biofortified grain in Indian adolescents
title_full_unstemmed Modeling relationships between iron status, behavior, and brain electrophysiology: Evidence from a randomized study involving a biofortified grain in Indian adolescents
title_short Modeling relationships between iron status, behavior, and brain electrophysiology: Evidence from a randomized study involving a biofortified grain in Indian adolescents
title_sort modeling relationships between iron status behavior and brain electrophysiology evidence from a randomized study involving a biofortified grain in indian adolescents
topic electroencephalography
anaemia
memory
pearl millet
cognition
adolescents
biofortification
trace element deficiencies
nutrient deficiencies
brain
blood
iron
behaviour
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141262
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