The Relation between Iron Deficiency and School Achievement in Mentially Retarded Children in Tehran

To investigate the relation between Iron deficiency and school achievement in mentally retarded students whose age ranged 7 to 18 years, the results of biochemical and hematological blood tests of 49 students and their average scores were studied. The blood tests included serum Iron, total Iron Binding Capacity, Transferring Saturated and Ferritin. There was a significant con-elation between the students' first semester average score and their serum Iron (P=.02) and Transferrin Saturated (p=.05). Based on standards presented in Tietz for three hematological indexes of Serum Iron, Transferrin Saturated and Ferritin, the students were divided into two groups with and without Iron deficiency. Then, the average scores of the two groups were compared; the difference was significant only in case of serum Iron (p=.03). The second semester average scores of those students who were exposed to Iron deficiency anemia with regard to serum Ferritin and had received Iron supplement, as compared with their first semester average scores and the healthy students' average scores, showed an increase of 2.5 times. The paired T-test indicated that there was a significant difference between the students' average scores before and after taking Iron supplement.