PhD Scientific Days 2026

Health Sciences 2.

First-trimester iron supplementation during pregnancy lowers the chance of congenital anomalies in the offspring: A subset analysis of a matched case‐control database

Name of the presenter

Pinto Amorim das Virgens, Isabel

Institute/workplace of the presenter

Centre for Translational Medicine

Authors

Isabel Pinto Amorim das Virgens¹
1: Centre for Translational Medicine

Text of the abstract

Introduction: Congenital anomalies (CAs), defined as functional or structural disorders that occur during the gestational period, affect approximately 3% to 6% of newborns worldwide. Several risk factors can influence the development of CAs, particularly folate deficiency. However, other nutrition deficiencies remain underinvestigated. Aims: We aimed to analyze whether iron-deficiency anemia and iron supplementation treatment can influence the risk of CAs. Methods: A subset of the population-based Hungarian Case-Control for Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies (HCCSCA) was analyzed. Eligibility criteria consisted of pregnant women with information on anemia and iron supplementation during the first trimester. The case group comprised newborns with CAs, whereas the controls comprised newborns without CAs, with mothers matched by district of residence, maternal age, and sex. We fitted two conditional logistic regression models to assess the effect of first-trimester anemia, adjusting for first-trimester folate supplementation, smoking, educational level, and maternal age, and modelled using natural cubic splines with three degrees of freedom. Results were reported as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Analyses were performed in R (version 4.4.3). Results: A total of 21,513 mothers were analyzed. Iron deficiency anemia during the first trimester was not associated with the overall incidence of CAs (OR = 0.92; CI: 0.71–1.19) or specific malformation types and showed poor predictive value for any type of congenital anomalies (AUC = 0.616). However, among anemic mothers, iron supplementation was associated with a 40% reduction in the odds of CAs (OR = 0.60; CI: 0.37– 0.98). Conclusion: Gestational iron-deficiency anemia during the first trimester of pregnancy does not pose a higher risk for CAs in the offspring. However, iron supplementation during this period showed a 40% lower risk for all types of CAs in the anemic group. Funding: Supported by the Semmelweis University Research, Development, and Innovation Funding.