Physical work capacity of young underprivileged school girls impact of daily vs intermittent iron folic acid supplementation: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objectives: To assess impact of daily and intermittent iron-folate (IFA) supplementation on physical work capacity of underprivileged schoolgirls in Vadodara.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Municipal Primary schools.

Participants: Schoolgirls (n=163) in the age group of 9-13 years.

Intervention: Three randomly selected schools were given IFA tablets (100 mg elemental iron + 0.5 mg folic acid) either once weekly or twice weekly or daily for one year. The fourth was the control school.

Outcome measures: Hemoglobin, modified Harvards Step test for physical work capacity.

Results: All three IFA supplemented groups showed significant improvement in number of steps climbed and recovery time compared to controls; with impact being relatively better in girls with higher Hb gain (> 1 g/dL) vs. lower Hb gain. Similarly, higher the frequency of dosing better was the impact- it being the best in daily IFA group. Twice weekly IFA was as good as daily IFA under conditions of good compliance.

Conclusion: Twice weekly IFA supplementation is comparable to daily IFA in terms of beneficial effects on physical work capacity in young girls.