Effects of Iron Supplementation on Hemoglobin Concentration in 12-18 Month Old Iron-Deficient Anemic Infants

Abstract

A randomized double blind clinical trial was conducted to study the effects of iron supplementation on hemoglobin values of 97 iron-deficient anemic (DA) and iron-sufficient (IS) infants, 12 to 18 months of age. IDA (n=SO) infants were assigned randomly to either receive dietary ferrous sulfate or placebo for 4 months. Similar treatment randomization was done among IS (n=4 7) infants. Before intervention, the mean hemoglobin value of the IDA infants was significantly (p<0.01) lower than that of the IS group. After intervention, there was an increase in the hemoglobin values of the IDA infants who had received iron, and was significantly (p<0.01) higher than those of the placebo treated IDA group, lS group, as well as placebo treated IS group. Hemoglobin values of the IDA infants who had received iron, increased up to the normal level as refer to the WHO's criteria used for normal hemoglobin values.

Keywords

• supplementation of hemoglobin; iron deficient; anemic infant; IDA; iron deficiency anemia