The effects of weekly iron supplementation with folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin C on iron status of Indonesian adolescents

Abstract

The goal of the study was to determine whether the addition of vitamins A and C and extra folate to the commonly distributed iron-folate supplement administered on a weekly basis would result in improved iron status in anaemic and non-anaemic female adolescents. Subjects (n=84) were selected if their haemoglobin concentration in venous blood was <= 140g/L. Subjects were randomly allocated into 2 groups. One group received 60mg iron, 500m g folic acid, 20 000 IU vitamin A and 60mg vitamin C weekly, while the other group received 60 mg iron and 250m g folic acid weekly for a period of 5 weeks. Before and after treatment, haemoglobin, serum ferritin and body height and weight were determined. All subjects received anthelmintic drugs before supplementation. A complete data set was obtained from 42 young women in the group supplemented with iron, folic acid, vitamin A and vitamin C and from 40 young women in the group supplemented with iron and folic acid. Haemoglobin, mean cell volume and serum ferritin increased significantly in both groups (p<0.05). Among anaemic adolescents, the rise in haemoglobin concentration in the multisupplement group was higher than that in the iron folate group. The result confirms that weekly supplementation is effective in improving iron status in a short time (5 weeks) and that supplementation with vitamins as well as iron results in an additional improvement in haemoglobin concentration.