Synthesized evidence indicates that addition of multiple micronutrients to Fe supplementation may only marginally improve Hb response compared with Fe supplementation alone .
However , addition of ' other micronutrients ' may have a negative effect .
Routine addition of unselected multiple micronutrients to Fe therefore appears unjustified for nutritional anaemia control programmes
OBJECTIVES To study the effect of combining multiple ( two or more ) micronutrients with Fe supplementation on Hb response , when compared with placebo and with Fe supplementation , in children .
Multivitamin-multimineral and iron supplementation did not improve appetite of young stunted and anemic Beninese children.
In developing countries , low food intake is often reported in children < 5 y old . Reduced appetite may be a contributing factor . We investigated whether a combination of a multivitamin-multimineral supplement and additional iron treatment improved appetite and growth of 18- to 30-mo-old stunted and anemic Beninese children . The study was placebo-controlled using VITALIA tablets ( 11 vitamins and 10 minerals ) and ferrous fumarate tablets ( 66 mg of iron ) . One hundred fifty stunted ( height-for-age Z score < -2 ) and anemic children ( hemoglobin < 110 g/L ) were r and omly assigned to one of four groups : group 1 , multivitamin-multimineral plus iron ; group 2 , multivitamin-multimineral plus placebo ; group 3 , placebo plus placebo ; and group 4 , placebo plus iron . Supplementation was daily and supervised for 6 wk . Appetite , knee-heel length , dietary intakes and morbidity were assessed before and after supplementation . Length , weight , arm circumference and hemoglobin concentration were assessed before , just after supplementation and 4 mo after the intervention . Appetite was assessed by means of an appetite test using a test food , riz-au-gras , eaten ad libitum after an overnight fast . Dietary intakes were assessed during three consecutive days in a sub sample by means of the observed weighed record method . Energy intake from the habitual breakfast was significantly correlated with that from the test food ( r = 0.49 , n = 38 , P = 0.002 ) . There were no differences among groups in changes in appetite and growth performance . The habitual diet of the children was monotonous and contained only small amounts of animal products . The morbidity status of the children was comparable in all study groups , before as well as after supplementation . We conclude that the 6-wk multivitamin-multimineral supplementation with additional iron treatment failed to improve the appetite and growth of the children
Synthesized evidence indicates that addition of multiple micronutrients to Fe supplementation may only marginally improve Hb response compared with Fe supplementation alone .
However , addition of ' other micronutrients ' may have a negative effect .
Routine addition of unselected multiple micronutrients to Fe therefore appears unjustified for nutritional anaemia control programmes
OBJECTIVES To study the effect of combining multiple ( two or more ) micronutrients with Fe supplementation on Hb response , when compared with placebo and with Fe supplementation , in children .