Daily iron supplementation significantly improves maximal and submaximal exercise performance in WRA , providing a rationale to prevent and treat iron deficiency in this group .
Animal and human observational studies suggest that iron deficiency impairs physical exercise performance , but findings from r and omized trials on the effects of iron are equivocal .
Iron deficiency and anemia are especially common in women of reproductive age ( WRA ) .
Clear evidence of benefit from iron supplementation would inform clinical and public health guidelines .
Therefore , we performed a systematic review and meta- analysis to determine the effect of iron supplementation compared with control on exercise performance in WRA .
Functional consequences of iron supplementation in iron-deficient female cotton mill workers in Beijing, China.
Eighty iron-deficient , nonpregnant female workers were r and omly assigned to ferrous sulphate ( 60 or 120 mg Fe/d ) or placebo treatment for 12 wk . Energy expenditure was estimated during 3 d by heart rate ( HR ) recording . Production efficiency ( PE ) was calculated as the ratio of productivity to energy expenditure . In the iron-treated group mean hemoglobin ( Hb ) increased from 114 to 127 g/L ( P < 0.001 ) , mean serum ferritin increased from 9.7 to 30.0 micrograms/L ( P < 0.001 ) , and mean free erythrocyte protoporphyrin decreased from 1.01 to 0.49 mumol/L ( P < 0.001 ) . Mean HR at work decreased from 95.5 to 91.1 beats/min ( P < 0.001 ) , which was inversely correlated with the change in Hb ( r = -0.60 , P < 0.001 ) . PE increased significantly in the iron-treated group ( P < 0.001 ) and its change paralleled the change in Hb ( r = 0.58 , P < 0.001 ) . The results show that iron supplementation enabled these women to do the same work at a lower energy cost
Daily iron supplementation significantly improves maximal and submaximal exercise performance in WRA , providing a rationale to prevent and treat iron deficiency in this group .
Animal and human observational studies suggest that iron deficiency impairs physical exercise performance , but findings from r and omized trials on the effects of iron are equivocal .
Iron deficiency and anemia are especially common in women of reproductive age ( WRA ) .
Clear evidence of benefit from iron supplementation would inform clinical and public health guidelines .
Therefore , we performed a systematic review and meta- analysis to determine the effect of iron supplementation compared with control on exercise performance in WRA .