DOES LOW IRON STATUS INFLUENCE PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING

To examine the possibility that low iron status has functional consequences, 297 young adults were distinguished in terms of serum ferritin levels and were compared using measures of psychological functioning: digit span, reaction times, a measure of sustained attention and a questionnaire measure of mental health. Of the 297 young adults tested 51.6% of females and 11.5% of males had serum ferritin levels below 20 ng/l. In males being vegetarian, and in females dieting, was associated with lower ferritin values. In males, and females not taking the oral contraceptive pill, there was no association between low ferritin status and poor performance on various cognitive tests. In females taking the oral contraceptive pill, those with ferritin values below 5 ng/ml were significantly more likely to report being depressed. It was concluded that for most of this population there was little evidence that low iron status was associated with changes in psychological status.