The impact of weekly iron supplementation on the iron status and growth of adolescent girls in Tanzania

Summary We evaluated the effect of weekly doses of 400 mg of ferrous sulphate for 4  months on the iron status of adolescent girls in a controlled trial in Tanga, Tanzania. Supplementation led to a significantly greater increase in serum ferritin compared with the control group (+ 15.6 μg/l vs. 8.6 ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tropical medicine & international health 2000-11, Vol.5 (11), p.794-799
Main Authors: Beasley, N. M. R., Tomkins, A. M., Hall, A., Lorri, W., Kihamia, C. M., Bundy, D. A. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
adolescent girls
Adolescent Health Services
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency - etiology
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency - prevention & control
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Dietary Supplements
Feces - parasitology
Female
Ferritins - blood
Ferrous Compounds - administration & dosage
General and cellular metabolism. Vitamins
Growth
Humans
iron status
keywords anaemia
malaria
Malaria, Falciparum - complications
Malaria, Falciparum - epidemiology
Medical sciences
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Plasmodium falciparum - isolation & purification
Prevalence
supplementation
Tanzania
Tanzania - epidemiology
Treatment Outcome
Tropical medicine
Women's Health
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Summary:Summary We evaluated the effect of weekly doses of 400 mg of ferrous sulphate for 4  months on the iron status of adolescent girls in a controlled trial in Tanga, Tanzania. Supplementation led to a significantly greater increase in serum ferritin compared with the control group (+ 15.6 μg/l vs. 8.6 μg/l) (P= 0.002) but there was no significant difference in change in haemoglobin. Children given iron showed a significantly greater weight gain than controls (+ 2.4 kg vs. + 1.4 kg) (P= 0.03). Weekly iron supplementation may be an effective means of increasing iron stores and growth in children vulnerable to iron deficiency.
ISSN:1360-2276
1365-3156
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-3156.2000.00641.x