Research paper
Intermittent iron supplementation for reducing anaemia and its associated impairments in adolescent and adult menstruating women.
Study answer
What this study found
Intermittent iron supplementation reduced anaemia and improved iron status versus no supplementation or placebo, and it was probably as effective as daily supplementation for preventing or controlling anaemia. Compared with no supplementation/placebo, intermittent iron reduced anaemia (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.87; 3135 participants, 11 studies), increased haemoglobin (MD 5.19 g/L, 95% CI 3.07 to 7.32; 2886 participants, 15 studies), and increased ferritin (MD 7.46 µg/L, 95% CI 5.02 to 9.90; 1067 participants, 7 studies). Compared with daily supplementation, anaemia (RR 1.09, 95% CI 0.93 to…
- Study & population
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of 25 studies including 10,996 adolescent and adult menstruating women who were not pregnant or lactating.
- Intervention
- Intermittent oral iron supplementation, given one to three times per week on non-consecutive days, was compared with no supplementation/placebo or with daily iron supplementation.
- Key limitation
- The evidence base was heterogeneous, with substantial variation in dose, formulation, frequency, and co-administered nutrients.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
BACKGROUND Anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells is insufficient to meet physiologic needs; it is caused by many conditions, particularly iron deficiency. Traditionally, daily iron supplementation has been a standard practice …