Long-term oral supplementation with iron is not harmful for young children in a poor community of Bangladesh.
The effect of long-term oral iron supplementation on morbidity due to diarrhea, dysentery and respiratory infections in 349 children, aged 2-48 mo, living in a poor community of Bangladesh, was evaluated in this double-blind study. The treatment group received 125 mg of ferrous gluconate (15 mg elemental iron) plus multivitamins and the controls received only multivitamins, daily for 15 mo. House-to-house visits were made on alternate days by trained community health workers for recording symptoms and duration of illnesses and for monitoring medicine intake. Seventy-six percent of the children continued the syrup for over 1 y. No untoward effects were noticed in either treatment group. The attack rates for diarrhea, dysentery and acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) were 3, 3 and 5 episodes per child per year, respectively. Each episode of diarrhea lasted a mean of 3 d, and those of dysentery and ARI, 5 d. The two treatment groups did not differ in the number of episodes, mean duration of each episode, or total days of illnesses due to diarrhea, dysentery and ARI. However, a 49% greater number of episodes of dysentery was observed with iron supplementation in a subset of the study children who were less than 12 mo old (P = 0.03). The results of this study suggest that long-term oral iron supplementation is not harmful for older children in a poor community. Further studies are needed to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of iron administration in young infants.
Mitra
A K
AK
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh.
Akramuzzaman
S M
SM
Fuchs
G J
GJ
Rahman
M M
MM
Mahalanabis
D
D
D000284:Administration, Oral; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004403:Dysentery / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005296:Ferrous Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage
D005296:Ferrous Compounds; D014815:Vitamins; C011819:ferrous gluconate