Premium
Impact of Malaria, Helminths and Anemia on Dietary Iron Absorption in Zanzibari Toddlers
Author(s) -
Arguello Margia,
O’Brien Kimberly,
Baer Nathaniel,
Inglis Jeremy,
Stoltzfus Rebecca,
Haji Hamad Juma,
Ramsan Mahdi
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.4.a191
Subject(s) - hemoglobin , anemia , medicine , malaria , iron deficiency , iron deficiency anemia , absorption (acoustics) , ferrous , gastroenterology , zoology , physiology , chemistry , immunology , biology , physics , acoustics , organic chemistry
The ability of toddlers to absorb non‐heme iron; and the impact of parasitic load on iron absorption and red blood cell stability was assessed in 80 toddlers (age 16.5 ± 24.7 months). Toddlers had been participating in a deworming study in which ½ of those recruited had received mebendazole every 3 months over the previous year. At entry, toddlers had Hb> 7.0 g/dL and no active malarial infections. At baseline a blood sample was taken and 58 Fe tracer (1 mg with 6 mg ferrous sulfate) or 57 Fe tracer (7 mg) was given orally. Complete stool collections were obtained over the following three days. At 2 weeks and 90 days post‐dosing, blood samples were collected for isotope analysis. Throughout the study, weekly health assessments and home visits were conducted. Iron isotopes were measured with magnetic sector thermal ionization mass spectrometry. Average Hb in those studied was 10.8 and was inversely correlated with serum sTfr concentrations (P <0.0001, R= −0.531, n= 69). In total, 47.14% of subjects were anemic (Hb<10.5 g/dL). Preliminary iron absorption data found iron absorption averaged 29.72 ± 3.47 %, n=3. Those with malaria parasites (n=58) had significantly lower Hb (P<0.05) and significantly higher sTfR (p=0.059) compared to those without malaria parasites (n=11). Additional analyses will assess the impact of iron status and parasitic infection on iron absorption and red blood cell iron stability among this cohort.