Research paper
Marginal iron deficiency without anemia impairs aerobic adaptation among previously untrained women.
Study answer
What this study found
Oral iron improved iron status and appeared to enhance aerobic adaptation during training in this iron-depleted, nonanemic population. In the iron group, absolute VO2 max increased from 2.11 ± 0.09 to 2.48 ± 0.08 L/min, and relative VO2 max increased from 49.1 ± 2.0 to 57.6 ± 1.8 mL·kg FFM^-1·min^-1; RERmax fell from 1.18 ± 0.02 to 1.06 ± 0.02. Iron markers also improved: transferrin saturation rose from 11.5 ± 5.2% at baseline to 27.1 ± 5.3% after treatment, ferritin increased from 8.0 ± 2.2 to 12.7 ± 2.0, and sTfR decreased from 12.6 ± 3.7 to 7.4 ± 1.9. The report notes significant…
- Study & population
- Previously untrained, marginally iron-depleted, nonanemic premenopausal women aged 18-33 years were studied in a training trial.
- Intervention
- Oral iron supplementation with ferrous sulfate: 50 mg FeSO4 (8 mg elemental iron) per capsule, taken twice daily for 6 weeks.
- Key limitation
- The active intervention arm was small, with only 22 participants, and the intervention period was short at 6 weeks alongside 4 weeks of training.
View source
Open PDFOriginal abstract
BACKGROUND Iron deficiency without anemia has been shown to reduce both muscle-tissue oxidative capacity and endurance in animals. However, the consequences of iron deficiency in humans remain unclear. OBJECTIVE We investigated the effects of iron su…