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Project Description:
Anemia is a serious health issue for women and young children in India, where 74% of children and over 50% of adolescent girls and women of reproductive age are anemic.
While Sprinkles have been shown to raise hemoglobin, the dose of iron had historically been relatively high and lower doses which may result in fewer adverse effects have not been examined. In order to test the lowest efficacious dose of iron to use in Sprinkles, three doses (12.5 mg, 20 mg, 30 mg) and two forms of iron (ferrous fumarate and micronized ferric pyrophosphate) were examined and compared to the standard treatment, iron drops in a randomized controlled trial designed to look at their effect on hemoglobin.
Project Goals:
To determine the hematologic effect of different doses and forms of iron in `Sprinkles' and iron drops.
Key Findings:
Hemoglobin rose significantly in all groups after 8 weeks with no differences between groups.
Ferritin levels increased and serum transferrin receptor decreased significantly in all groups at 8 weeks with no
differences between groups.
Compliance ranged from 42-62% and was lowest in the iron drops group(42%). More side effects were reported in the iron drops group as compared to the group taking Sprinkles.
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