Association between serum iron deficiency and motor development in the children of the Santal tribe of West Bengal, India

Abstract

Background: Low serum iron levels may be associated with the poor motor proficiency of chronically undernourished Santal children of West Bengal. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between iron status and motor function in these children. Methods: A total of 170 randomly selected children aged 5 to 12 years (52.8% boys and 47.1% girls) of the Purulia district of West Bengal were assessed for their iron status, including haemoglobin concentration, serum iron, transferrin, ferritin, transferrin saturation, and total iron binding capacity. Their motor development was assessed using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2). Results: The results showed that the concentration of hemoglobin, serum iron, transferrin saturation, and serum ferritin levels in children who scored above -1 z-score on the BOT-2 were significantly higher (p <0.05) than those in children who scored below -1 z-score. Notably, a considerable number of both boys and girls (66.6%) in the well-below-average category on the BOT-2 exhibited Stage III iron depletion. Furthermore, serum ferritin levels were significantly associated (p <0.001) with total BOT-2 scores for all children. Conclusion: These findings indicate that iron depletion is linked to the severity of motor impairment, suggesting that serum ferritin may serve as a sensitive biomarker for predicting motor proficiency.