Children With Autism: Effect of Iron Supplementation on Sleep and Ferritin

Dosman, Cara F.; Brian, Jessica A.; Drmic, Irene E.; Senthilselvan, Ambikaipakan; Harford, Mary M.; Smith, Ryan W.; Sharieff, Waseem; Zlotkin, Stanley H.; Moldofsky, Harvey; Roberts, S. Wendy

doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2006.11.004

« Previous Next »Pediatric Neurology
Volume 36, Issue 3 , Pages 152-158, March 2007

Children With Autism: Effect of Iron Supplementation on Sleep and Ferritin

Cara F. Dosman, MD
- Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Communications should be addressed to: Dr. Dosman; 10230-111 Avenue; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T56 0B7.
Jessica A. Brian, PhD
- Child Development Centre, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital For Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Irene E. Drmic, MSc
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ambikaipakan Senthilselvan, PhD
- Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Mary M. Harford, RN
- Child Development Centre, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital For Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ryan W. Smith
- Child Development Centre, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital For Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Waseem Sharieff, MD, PhD
- Nutrition Research Institute, The Hospital For Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Stanley H. Zlotkin, MD
- Nutrition Research Institute, The Hospital For Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Harvey Moldofsky, MD
- Sleep Disorders Clinic, Centre for Sleep and Chronobiology Disorders, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
S. Wendy Roberts, MD
- Child Development Centre, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital For Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Received 1 June 2006; accepted 9 November 2006.

To determine if there is a relationship between low serum ferritin and sleep disturbance in children with autism spectrum disorder, an 8-week open-label treatment trial with oral iron supplementation was conducted as a pilot study. At baseline and posttreatment visits, parents completed a Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children and a Food Record. Blood samples were obtained. Thirty-three children completed the study. Seventy-seven percent had restless sleep at baseline, which improved significantly with iron therapy, suggesting a relationship between sleep disturbance and iron deficiency in children with autism spectrum disorder. Sixty-nine percent of preschoolers and 35% of school-aged children had insufficient dietary iron intake. Mean ferritin increased significantly (16 μg/L to 29 μg/L), as did mean corpuscular volume and hemoglobin, suggesting that low ferritin in this patient group resulted from insufficient iron intake. Similar prevalence of low ferritin at school age as preschool age indicates that children with autism spectrum disorder require ongoing screening for iron deficiency.