Low Ferritin without Anemia in Indonesian Newborns with Mothers having Second-Hand Smoke Exposure

To the Editor: One hundred and fourteen healthy Indonesian newborns born to mothers with second-hand smoke exposure in low-income settings were studied to determine nutritional status via blood from the umbilical cord. This observational study was conducted from September 2023 through October 2024 at a tertiary hospital in Indonesia. Most participants were boys (51.8%) with body weight of 3055.95 ± 403.79 g and height of 48.42 ± 2.16 cm. Nutritional status included vitamin D (16.01 ± 6.57 ng/mL), ferritin (12.66 ± 2.99 µg/L), and hemoglobin (16.17 ± 11.42 mg/dL) levels. Cytokine measurements were also performed including, IL-6 (71.78 ± 164.84 pg/mL), IL-10 (260.31 ± 40.01 pg/mL), and TGF-β (76.59 ± 74.29 ng/mL) levels. The participants had vitamin D deficiency (85.09%), low ferritin (100%), and low hemoglobin (1.75%). The analysis did not find any significant association between vitamin D vs. cytokines and hemoglobin vs. cytokines. However, a significant association was found between ferritin vs. IL-10 (r= -0.324; p < 0.001) and ferritin vs. TGF-β (r = 0.188; p = 0.045). Most participants had low ferritin without anemia and high IL-10 values. …