Effects of Iron Supplementation on Hemoglobin Concentration in 12-18 Month Old Iron-Deficient Anemic Infants

A randomized double blind clinical trial was conducted to study the effects of iron supplementation on hemoglobin values of 97 iron-deficient anemic (DA) and iron-sufficient (IS) infants, 12 to 18 months of age. IDA (n=SO) infants were assigned randomly to either receive dietary ferrous sulfate or placebo for 4 months. Similar treatment randomization was done among IS (n=4 7) infants. Before intervention, the mean hemoglobin value of the IDA infants was significantly (p<0.01) lower than that of the IS group. After intervention, there was an increase in the hemoglobin values of the IDA infants who had received iron, and was significantly (p