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Frequent blood donation and offspring scholastic attainment: an assessment of long‐term consequences of prenatal iron deficiency
Author(s) -
Rigas Andreas S.,
Pedersen Ole B.,
Rostgaard Klaus,
Sørensen Erik,
Erikstrup Christian,
Hjalgrim Henrik,
Ullum Henrik
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1111/trf.15193
Subject(s) - offspring , blood donor , medicine , term (time) , pregnancy , iron deficiency , donation , pediatrics , immunology , biology , genetics , anemia , political science , physics , quantum mechanics , law
BACKGROUND Due to physiological demands, children and premenopausal women are at risk of developing iron deficiency. In premenopausal women, the risk may be further increased by repeated whole blood donations. Short‐term consequences of iron deficiency in infancy include impaired cognitive development and lower IQ scores. This prompts concern that maternal iron deficiency before or during pregnancy may have long‐term consequences for the offspring, for example, by affecting scholastic attainment. The aim of this study was to evaluate if prepregnancy donation intensity is associated with offspring scholastic attainment measured as grade averages in standardized national written examinations in Denmark. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS By using the Danish personal identification number as key, we obtained information on donation intensity before pregnancy, school grade, year of graduation, age of the students, students' sex, and parental length of education and income from various nationwide registers. Linear regression analyses were performed, with grade average as outcome and maternal donation status as explanatory variable (nondonor, n = 177,078; low‐frequency donor, n = 4995 [one to five donations in the 3 years before pregnancy]; high‐frequency donor, n = 414 [six or more donations in the 3 years before pregnancy), and further adjusted for the covariates listed above. RESULTS Adjusted normalized (mean, 0; standard deviation [SD], 1) test scores were statistically significantly higher for children of active female donors compared with children of nondonors (SD, 0.104; 95% confidence interval, 0.079–0.129). We observed no differences in scholastic attainment between children of low‐frequency donors and high‐frequency donors. CONCLUSION Prepregnancy donation intensity, as a proxy of iron stores, is not associated with subsequent offspring scholastic attainment.