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 .
Weekly micronutrient supplementation to build iron stores in female Indonesian adolescents.
Different supplementation schemes to build iron stores in female Indonesian adolescents were investigated . Subjects were 273 high-school girls allocated r and omly to four treatment groups . During a 3-mo period one group received 60 mg Fe , 750 micrograms retinol , 250 micrograms folic acid , and 60 mg vitamin C per day ; a second group received 60 mg Fe , 6000 micrograms retinol , 500 mg folic acid , and 60 mg vitamin C once a week ; a third group received 120 mg Fe and the same amount of the other three micronutrients as the second group once a week ; and a fourth group received only placebos . All subjects were dewormed and supplement allocation was double blind . Blood sample s were collected at baseline , after 2 and 3 mo of supplementation , and 6 mo after the last supplement . After 2 mo of supplementation , groups supplemented weekly and daily showed similar significant improvements ( P < 0.001 ) in hemoglobin and retinol concentrations , and supplementation for 3 instead of 2 mo did not significantly increase these two indicators . After 3 mo , the increase in ferritin was approximately equal to 27 micrograms/L in the daily and 14 - 15 micrograms/L in the weekly groups ( P < 0.001 ) , the latter having a final concentration of 42 - 45 micrograms/L. At 6 mo postsupplementation there were no significant differences among daily and weekly groups , but the ferritin concentration was still approximately equal to 10 - 12-micrograms/L higher ( P < 0.001 ) than in the placebo group . The group supplemented weekly with 60 mg Fe complained less about side effects than the other supplemented groups ( P < 0.05 ) . Weekly supplementation with 60 mg Fe and 6000 micrograms retinol for 3 mo was optimal for improving the iron status of the adolescents for approximately equal to 9 mo
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 .