Effect Of Daily Versus Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation on The Haemoglobin Levels of Children 6 To 36 Months of Urban Slums of Vadodara

Authors

  • K Sharma The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat
  • P Parikh The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat
  • F Desai The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat

Keywords:

Under 3, IFA supplementation, anaemia, weekly vs. daily supplementation, low socio-economic group

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effect of daily versus weekly iron folic acid (IFA) supplementation on the haemoglobin levels of children 6 to 36 months of urban slums of Vadodara

Design: Non-Randomized control supervised trial

Setting: Five out of 40 anganwadi centres were randomly selected. The centres were randomly divided into 3 groups i.e., daily, weekly and control.

Participants: All children age 6 to 36 months were selected

Intervention: Subjects of daily group (n=31) received one IFA tablet (19.8 mg of elemental iron/tablet) daily for 60 days; weekly group (n=30) received one IFA tablet per week for 19 weeks; control group (n=31) did not receive any supplementation.

 Main Outcome Measure(s) included impact on haemoglobin levels, anemia prevalence.

 Results: A significant rise in the hemoglobin levels of 2.03g/dl and 1.75g/dl was observed in daily and weekly group respectively, with anaemic subjects showing a higher rise. Overall prevalence of anemia reduced significantly by 35% and 43% respectively in daily and weekly group. Weekly supplementation showed fewer side effects and more reduction in anemia compared to daily.

Conclusions: IFA supplementation significantly increased haemoglobin levels of underprivileged children below 3y of age, irrespective of dose and regimen (daily or weekly). Weekly supplementation with medicinal iron can be used as a strategy for improving haemoglobin levels and anemia reduction among children 6 to 36 months with fewer side effects.

References

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Published

2011-12-31

How to Cite

1.
Sharma K, Parikh P, Desai F. Effect Of Daily Versus Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation on The Haemoglobin Levels of Children 6 To 36 Months of Urban Slums of Vadodara. Natl J Community Med [Internet]. 2011 Dec. 31 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];2(03):413-8. Available from: https://njcmindia.com/index.php/file/article/view/1934

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Original Research Articles