Weekly iron supplementation is as effective as 5 day per week iron supplementation in Bolivian school children living at high altitude
Abstract
To compare the efficacy of a daily and a weekly iron supplementation on the hematological status of anemic children living at high altitude. Double blind iron supplementation trial including a placebo control group. A socioeconomically disadvantaged district of La Paz, Bolivia (altitude of 4000 m). Anemic (hemoglobin concentration < or = 144 g/L), 3.3-8.3 y old children of both sexes. Children received a placebo (n = 57) or a dose of 3-4 mg of elemental iron per kg body weight (FeSO4 tablets) 1 d per week (n = 58) or 5 d per week (n = 58) for 16 weeks. Hemoglobin and zinc erythrocyte protoporphyrin concentrations improved significantly in supplemented groups but not in the placebo group. Changes in hemoglobin during the study were not significantly different between supplemented groups (weekly group: 15.2 +/- 6.9 g/L and daily group: 18.6 +/- 11.1 g/L) but were different from the placebo group (0.5 +/- 7.1 g/L, P < 0.001). At the end of the supplementation period, the hemoglobin distribution was Gaussian, and similar in both supplemented groups. Adjusting for the initial hemoglobin concentration, final hemoglobin and its changes were similar in both supplemented groups. Weekly iron supplementation is as efficacious as daily iro...Continue Reading
Citations
Intestinal helminth infections, anaemia and labour productivity of female tea pluckers in Bangladesh
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Anemia
Anemia develops when your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells. Anemia of inflammation (AI, also called anemia of chronic disease) is a common, typically normocytic, normochromic anemia that is caused by an underlying inflammatory disease. Here is the latest research on anemia.