Comparison of the effectiveness of weekly and daily iron supplementation in 6- to 24-months-old babies in urban health centers of Sari, Iran

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of weekly and daily iron supplementation in 6 to 24 months infants. One-hundred Infants enrolled into this randomized controlled field trail. Fifteen drops was prescribed for the group who received daily supplementation of iron and 30 drops was prescribed for the group who was set up to receive weekly supplementation of iron. Hemoglobin and serum ferritin was measured after 12 weeks. After 12 weeks results showed that both weekly and daily supplementation significantly increased hemoglobin but for serum ferritin daily supplementation was only significant. However, there was no significant difference between two groups, so the weekly supplementation is recommended. According to the results and more tendencies to the weekly regimen, we recommended weekly regimen versus daily Iron supplementation.