Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012:2012:482153.
doi: 10.5402/2012/482153. Epub 2012 Jul 26.

Intermittent iron folate supplementation: impact on hematinic status and growth of school girls

Aditi Sen  1 , Shubhada Kanani
Affiliations

Intermittent iron folate supplementation: impact on hematinic status and growth of school girls

Aditi Sen et al. ISRN Hematol. 2012.

Abstract

In view of high iron needs for adolescent growth, this paper studied the impact of daily vs. intermittent (once and twice weekly) iron folic acid (IFA) supplementation on hemoglobin levels and pubertal growth among primary school girls in early adolescence (9-13 years) of Vadodara, India. Methods. Hemoglobin (Hb), height and weight of the girls were assessed using standard methods. In three experimental schools (ES) IFA tablets in a dose of 100 mg Fe + 0.5 mg folic acid was given either daily, once weekly or twice weekly for one year. The fourth school (control: CS) did not receive any intervention. Results. Hb levels significantly improved (P < 0.01) in all ES compared to CS. Body Mass Index (BMI) increment in ES vs CS was significant (P < 0.05) in twice weekly IFA and daily IFA. Within ES groups, mean Hb and BMI increments were comparable between twice weekly IFA and daily IFA. Anemic ES girls showed higher Hb and BMI increments vs. non-anemic girls. Better the Hb response, greater was the benefit on BMI.

Conclusion: Twice-weekly IFA supplementation was comparable to daily IFA as regards impact on Hb and growth; at less cost and greater feasibility. Once-weekly dose was inadequate to significantly improve growth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean increment in hemoglobin levels among younger and older girls after the intervention. In all girls: P < 0.001 (E1 versus CS, E2 versus CS, and ED versus CS), P < 0.05 (E2 versus E1),NSnon significant (ED versus E1and E2 versus ED), IFA-1Wkly: once a week IFA tablet, IFA-2Wkly: twice a week IFA tablet, IFA-Daily: daily IFA tablet, and No-IFA: no IFA tablet.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean hemoglobin increment in girls with good1 compliance and poor2 compliance of iron folic acid tablets. 1compliance of ≥70% of IFA tablets, 2compliance of <70% of IFA tablets, IFA-1Wkly: once a week IFA tablet, IFA-2Wkly: twice a week IFA tablet, and IFA-Daily: daily IFA tablet.
Figure 3
Figure 3
BMI gain according to change in hemoglobin levels among the Three intervened groups after the intervention. BMI: body mass index, IFA-1Wkly: once a week IFA tablet, IFA-2Wkly: twice a week IFA tablet, and IFA-Daily: daily IFA tablet.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Brabin L, Brabin BJ. The cost of successful adolescent growth and development in girls in relation to iron and vitamin A status. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1992;55(5):955–958. - PubMed
    1. Kanani SJ, Poojara RH. Supplementation with iron and folic acid enhances growth in adolescent Indian girls. Journal of Nutrition. 2000;130(2):452S–455S. - PubMed
    1. Kanani S, Sen A. Studies on Impact of Daily and Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplements on Hematic Status and Growth of Adolescent Girls in Vadodara. Vadodara, India: The Department of Foods and Nutrition, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda; 2002.
    1. Dwivedi A, Schultink W. Reducing anemia among Indian adolescent girls through once weekly supplementation with iron folic acid. Nations System/Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNS/SCN) 2006;31:21–25.
    1. Kotecha PV, Patel RZ, Nirupam S. Baseline Report. Vadodara, India: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Medical College; 2000. Prevalence of anemia among adolescent school girls Vadodara district.

LinkOut - more resources