Prevention and Treatment of Anemia in Infants through Supplementation, Assessing the Effectiveness of Using Iron Once or Twice Weekly

Abstract

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the effect of once weekly iron supplementation (IS) versus twice weekly, on hemoglobin (Hb) levels and anemia prevalence. Methods: In this cluster-randomized clinical trial study, we evaluated infants aged 6-18 months. Length of intervention: 16 weeks. Infants were cluster randomized to either 25 mgelemental iron once weekly (Group-A) or twice weekly (Group-B). Primary outcome variables were change in Hb concentration and anemia prevalence. Two biochemical evaluations were performed to determine Hb concentrations, before and after intervention. Results: For Group-A, at baseline, mean Hb concentration was 10.8 ± 1.18 g/dl and after intervention 11.2 ± 1.07 g/dl, p=0.12; anemia prevalence was 52.5% at baseline and 37.5% after intervention, p=0.18; Group-B, mean baseline Hb was 10.7 ± 1.04 g/dl, and 11.3 ± 0.91 g/dl after intervention, p=0.002; anemia prevalence reduced from 57.9 to 36.8%. Conclusions: Both once and twice weekly IS increased mean Hb concentration; however, twice weekly supplementation provided more significant results.