Effect of daily or weekly multiple-micronutrient and iron foodlike tablets on body iron stores of Indonesian infants aged 6-12 mo: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND

There is still uncertainty about the best procedure to alleviate iron deficiency. Additionally more reliable methods are needed to assess the effect of iron intervention.

OBJECTIVE

We examined the efficacy of daily iron (10 mg), daily and weekly multiple-micronutrient supplementation (10 and 20 mg Fe, respectively) in improving body iron stores of Indonesian infants.

DESIGN

Infants aged 6-12 mo were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 groups: daily multiple-micronutrients (DMM) foodlike tablets (foodLETs), weekly multiple-micronutrient (WMM) foodLETs, daily iron (DI) foodLETs, or daily placebo. Hemoglobin, ferritin, transferrin receptors, and C-reactive protein data were obtained at baseline and 23 wk.

RESULTS

Body iron estimated from the ratio of transferrin receptors to ferritin was analyzed for 244 infants. At baseline, mean iron stores (0.5 +/- 4.1 mg/kg) did not differ among the groups, and 45.5% infants had deficits in tissue iron (body iron < 0). At week 23, the group DI had the highest increment in mean body iron (4.0 mg/kg), followed by the DMM group (2.3 mg/kg; P < 0.001 for both). The iron stores in the WMM group did not change, whereas the mean body iron declined in the daily placebo group (-2.2 mg/kg; P < 0.001). Compared with the daily placebo group, the DMM group gained 4.55 mg Fe/kg, the DI group gained 6.23 mg Fe/kg (both P < 0.001), and the WMM group gained 2.54 mg Fe/kg (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

When compliance can be ensured, DI and DMM foodLETs are efficacious in improving and WMM is efficacious in maintaining iron stores among Indonesian infants.