Table 4:
Characteristics by Serum Ferritin Quartiles
| Lowest Serum Ferritin Quartile | 2 Median Serum Ferritin Quartiles | Highest Serum Ferritin Quartile | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covariate | (N=20) | (N=40) | (N=23) | |
| Male | 12 (60.0%) | 16 (40.0%) | 13 (56.5%) | 0.249 |
| Gestational Age (wks) | 25.5 (1.4) | 25.8 (1.47) | 25.9 (1.47) | 0.707 |
| Birth weight (g) | 748 (152.3) | 792 (169.9) | 798 (198.3) | 0.579 |
| Growth Rate (g/day) | 23.8 (3.07) | 24.4 (3.19) | 24.0 (4.6) | 0.82 |
| Total Iron Intake (mg) | 693 (266.4) | 660 (253.0) | 449 (267.2)* | 0.003 |
| Total Amount of Blood (mL) | 32.0 (33.0) | 45.5 (43.6) | 79.9 (63.8)* | 0.004 |
| Total ml/kg of Blood | 39.2 (35.6) | 55.3 (47.7) | 61.7 (46.5) | 0.257 |
| Hemoglobin (gm/dL) | 11.9 (1.35) | 12.4 (1.68) | 12.4 (1.44) | 0.592 |
| Hematocrit (%) | 37.5 (3.58) | 38.9 (4.48) | 39.5 (4.78) | 0.363 |
| Serum Iron (mcg/dL) | 91.0 (43.2) | 87.4 (42.1) | 86.0 (29.3) | 0.909 |
| TIBC (mcg/dL) | 353 (68.2) | 346 (59.9) | 295 (72.9)* | 0.005 |
| Iron Saturation (%) | 25.6 (11.2) | 26.4 (12.6) | 29.7 (10.6) | 0.466 |
| Transferrin (mg/dL) | 237 (45.8) | 232 (40.2) | 198 (48.9)* | 0.006 |
| Serum Ferritin (ng/mL) | 30.4 (6.94) | 61.3 (15.3) | 253 (220.3) | <0.001 |
Mean (SD) for continuous variables, or N (%) for categorical variables Hematological and iron values at a PMA of 35±1 week).
*
P ≤ .01 compared to lowest serum ferritin quartile