Iron state in female adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To document a subjective response to iron therapy in female adolescents.

Design: Double-blind, placebo-controlled prospective study.

Setting: High school classes in an urban community in Israel.

Participants: Twenty-nine girls, aged 16 and 17 years, who ingested syrup containing iron (daily for 2 months) and 30 girls who received a placebo.

Main results: By the end of the study, a statistically significant improvement in three subjective parameters, ie, lassitude, the ability to concentrate in school, and mood was reported by the girls who ingested iron compared with the controls. Sixty-five percent, 100%, and 65% of the girls, respectively, who reported improvement in the above-mentioned parameters were hypoferremic initially and became normoferremic by the end of the study.

Conclusion: Iron supplementation may be of benefit to female adolescents, as evidenced by their responses to subjective parameters.