Association between full breastfeeding, timing of complementary food introduction, and iron status in infancy in Germany: results of a secondary analysis of a randomized trial.

Purpose: Considering the low content in breast milk breastfed infants might be at particular risk for depleted iron stores after the first months of life. This study evaluates the association of the mode of milk feeding and the timing of complementary food (CF) introduction with parameters of iron status in term healthy infants in Germany.

Methods: In this secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial, parents recorded all foods consumed by their infants from the age of 8 weeks onwards.