This systematic review indicates that iron supplementation increases  Hb levels in children significantly but modestly .
The increase is greater in subjects who are anaemic at the start of the trial and lower in malarial hyperendemic areas and in those consuming iron-fortified food .
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of iron supplementation on  haemoglobin ( Hb ) in children through a systematic review of r and omised controlled trials .
Effect of improved vitamin A status on response to iron supplementation in Pakistani infants.
We report an apparently protective effect of vitamin A in infants who received iron supplements ( 15 mg/d ) for 3 mo . Those receiving iron showed increases in hemoglobin ( 8 g/L ) , ferritin ( 3.7 micrograms/L ) , and the acute-phase protein alpha 1-antichymotrypsin ( ACT ; 0.06 g/L ) . In both the placebo and iron-supplemented groups there were increases in plasma retinol , lutein , alpha-tocopherol , immunoglobulin A , and immunoglobulin G. The improvement in vitamin A status could only have been from a seasonal increase in dietary sources of vitamin A , eg , breast milk and early weaning foods , and there were no obvious effects on iron utilization ( hemoglobin concentrations ) . However , in the infants receiving iron , those whose retinol concentrations increased also showed reductions in ACT , ferritin , immunoglobulin A , and immunoglobulin M.  Vitamin A is well known for its antiinfective properties and we suggest that these observations illustrate the importance of even small increases in dietary vitamin A or differences in vitamin A status in reducing the potentially toxic effects of iron supplements  in persons in developing countries . These conclusions should now be confirmed with an intervention study to show that the benefits of vitamin A on iron status are due to reduced levels of infection
This systematic review indicates that iron supplementation increases  Hb levels in children significantly but modestly .
The increase is greater in subjects who are anaemic at the start of the trial and lower in malarial hyperendemic areas and in those consuming iron-fortified food .
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of iron supplementation on  haemoglobin ( Hb ) in children through a systematic review of r and omised controlled trials .