Premium
Randomized placebo‐controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of twice weekly iron supplementation to treat iron‐deficiency anemia in indigenous Mexican women of fertile age using a school‐based strategy to improve compliance
Author(s) -
MonárrezEspino Joel,
VázquezMendoza Guillermo,
Greiner Ted
Publication year - 2008
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.22.2_supplement.772
Subject(s) - medicine , hemoglobin , anemia , placebo , iron deficiency anemia , iron deficiency , randomized controlled trial , ferritin , iron supplementation , zoology , ferrous , serum ferritin , gastroenterology , chemistry , alternative medicine , organic chemistry , pathology , biology
This trial examined the effect of twice weekly ferrous sulphate supplementation (60 mg elemental iron) on iron‐deficiency anemic (IDA) women aged 14–49 years using a school‐based approach to improve compliance. Mothers (n=435) to children from 7 boarding schools were screened for anemia using altitude‐adjusted capillary hemoglobin (Hb) cut‐offs. The 75 anemic women were randomly allocated to a supplementation (S) or placebo (P) group, each with 18 and 15 iron‐deficient women (serum ferritin‐SF<12 ng/ml and negative C‐reactive protein), respectively. Every week, children to anemic mothers were given a package with 2 tablets to provide one to their mothers on Fridays when coming home, and the other on Mondays before coming back to school. Dietary data from 40 women was collected during weekends for weeks 3‐5‐7 using 48‐hr recalls. Baseline mean‐SD Hb (g/l) and SF (ng/ml) was 11.8‐1.4 and 6.8‐3.4 for the S (n=18), and 12.0‐0.9 and 7.1‐3.4 for the P (n=15), respectively (Hb p 0.7; SF p 0.7); after 14 weeks these were 13.1‐1.8 and 20.0‐11.5, and 12.1‐1.0 and 10.9‐5.2 (Hb p 0.07; SF p 0.008). Mean daily iron intake, mostly non‐haem, did not differ between S and P groups (19.6 vs. 21.4 mg; p 0.54). Overall mean compliance was 93.4%, with no differences between S (n=37) and P (n=34) groups (94.2 vs. 92.4%; p 0.51). This school‐based strategy proved effective in treating indigenous women with IDA in this marginalized region of northern Mexico. Supported by grant IMSS‐FOFOI/2005/1/I/088 and CDI).