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Prolonged bottle-feeding could put your baby at risk for iron deficiency -- especially if you're Mexican-American, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin studied more than 2,100 children between ages 1 and 3. Among the children in the study, 6 percent of whites were iron-deficient, 8 percent of blacks were iron-deficient, and 17 percent of Mexican Americans were iron-deficient.

When looking at what might be linked to iron deficiency, researchers found the longer children were bottle-fed, the higher their risk was of being iron-deficient. Mexican-American children were more likely to be bottle-fed for longer periods of time. They also had the highest rate of iron deficiency. Nearly 37 percent of Mexican-American kids between 2 and 3 were still being bottle-fed. That was compared to 16.9 percent of whites and 13.8 percent of blacks the same age.

Jane Brotanek, M.D., M.P.H., from the Medical College of Wisconsin, says, "This is the first study that we are aware of to report an association between prolonged bottle-feeding and iron deficiency among a nationally representative sample of children 1 to 3 years of age. Our data suggest that prolonged bottle-feeding among Mexican-American infants may be at least partly responsible for the high prevalence of iron deficiency seen in this group."

Nearly 500,000 children in the United States are iron-deficient. Dr. Brotanek says: "Toddlers who are bottle-fed consume large volumes of non-iron-fortified milk. This results in gastrointestinal blood loss together with a displacement of iron-rich foods from the diet." Iron-deficiency anemia in kids is linked to behavioral and cognitive delays.

Authors of the study say screening and nutritional counseling should address the increased risk of iron deficiency among kids who are bottle-fed for long periods of time, especially in the Mexican-American community.

Dr. Brotanek says, "Pediatricians need to counsel parents about feeding issues during the first year of life and encourage them to wean children from bottle-feeding by 15 months."

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2005;159:1038-1042

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