Does iron supplementation compromise zinc nutrition in healthy infants?

Abstract

Iron supplements are commonly administered to infants in order to prevent iron deficiency. We wished to determine whether iron administration could compromise zinc nutrition as might be suspected from previous studies. Measures of iron nutrition, serum zinc, and serum copper were measured before and after randomization of 291 healthy 1-yr-old infants to a 3 mo course of placebo or iron treatment (30 mg iron as ferrous sulfate given before a meal). There was no significant difference in serum zinc or copper in the two groups before and after treatment; thus iron administration did not result in any evidence of zinc deficiency in a healthy, well-nourished group of 1-yr-old infants.