Giving low birth weight babies iron supplements may reduce their risk of developing behavioral problems, including ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) later in life, a new study suggests.

It is already widely accepted that babies born with a low birth weight can be at an increased risk of developmental and behavioural problems. Swedish scientists decided to investigate this further.

They divided almost 300 low birth weight babies into three random groups. The first group was given no iron, the second was given a small iron supplement, while the third group was given a larger iron supplement, from the age of six weeks to six months.

The children were then assessed for behavior and intelligence at the age of three-and-a-half, along with 95 children who had been a normal birth weight.

The study found no major differences in intelligence between all the children. However, when it came to behaviour, the iron supplements appeared to have a significant effect.

Over 12% of the low birth weight babies who received no iron supplements displayed signs of behaviour problems by the age of three-and-a-half. However, this fell to 2.9% in the group that received a small iron supplement and to 2.7% among those who received the larger supplement.

Just over 3% of the normal birth weight babies showed signs of behaviour problems.

According to the scientists, these findings show the potential long-term benefits of early iron supplementation among low birth weight babies.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Pediatrics.