Research paper
Iron biofortification interventions to improve iron status and functional outcomes
Study answer
What this study found
Iron-biofortified crops improved cognitive performance in attention and memory domains compared with conventional crops. Overall, however, they did not show significant effects on anaemia or iron deficiency. In the rice trial, ferritin increased in non-anaemic participants (P = 0.02) and total body iron increased (P = 0.05) versus conventional rice, but cognitive outcomes were not reported there. Evidence for physical performance and other functional outcomes remains limited.
- Study & population
- Systematic review of 3 randomized efficacy trials with 633 participants pooled across active arms.
- Intervention
- Iron-biofortified staple crops were tested as daily oral food-based interventions: biofortified rice for 9 months in the Philippines, biofortified pearl millet for 6 months in India, and biofortified beans twice daily for 128 days in Rwanda.
- Key limitation
- Evidence came from only 3 randomized efficacy trials with different crops, populations, and durations, limiting certainty and generalizability.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
This analysis was conducted to evaluate the evidence of the efficacy of iron biofortification interventions on iron status and functional outcomes. Iron deficiency is a major public health problem worldwide, with a disproportionate impact on women an…