Impact of iron fortification on anaemia and iron deficiency among pre-school children living in Rural Ghana.
Anaemia in young sub-Saharan African children may be due to the double burden of malaria and iron deficiency. Primary analysis of a double-blind, cluster randomized trial of iron containing micronutrient powder supplementation in Ghanaian children aged 6 to 35 months found no difference in malaria r...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246362 |
| _version_ | 1818719244108431360 |
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| author | Samuel Kofi Tchum Fareed Kow Arthur Bright Adu Samuel Asamoah Sakyi Latifatu Alhassan Abubakar Dorcas Atibilla Seeba Amenga-Etego Felix Boakye Oppong Francis Dzabeng Benjamin Amoani Thomas Gyan Emmanuel Arhin Kwaku Poku-Asante |
| author_facet | Samuel Kofi Tchum Fareed Kow Arthur Bright Adu Samuel Asamoah Sakyi Latifatu Alhassan Abubakar Dorcas Atibilla Seeba Amenga-Etego Felix Boakye Oppong Francis Dzabeng Benjamin Amoani Thomas Gyan Emmanuel Arhin Kwaku Poku-Asante |
| author_sort | Samuel Kofi Tchum |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anaemia in young sub-Saharan African children may be due to the double burden of malaria and iron deficiency. Primary analysis of a double-blind, cluster randomized trial of iron containing micronutrient powder supplementation in Ghanaian children aged 6 to 35 months found no difference in malaria risk between intervention and placebo groups. Here, we performed a secondary analysis of the trial data to assess the impact of long-term prophylactic iron fortificant on the risk of iron deficiency and anaemia in trial subjects. This population-based randomized-cluster trial involved 1958 children aged between 6 to 35 months, identified at home and able to eat semi-solid foods. The intervention group (n = 967) received a daily dose containing 12.5 mg elemental iron (as ferrous fumarate), vitamin A (400 μg), ascorbic acid (30 mg) and zinc (5 mg). The placebo group (n = 991) received a similar micronutrient powder but without iron. Micronutrient powder was provided daily to both groups for 5 months. At baseline and endline, health assessment questionnaires were administered and blood samples collected for analysis. The two groups had similar baseline anthropometry, anaemia, iron status, demographic characteristics, and dietary intakes (p > 0.05). Of the 1904 (97.2%) children who remained at the end of the intervention, the intervention group had significantly higher haemoglobin (p = 0.0001) and serum ferritin (p = 0.0002) levels than the placebo group. Soluble transferrin receptor levels were more saturated among children from the iron group compared to non-iron group (p = 0.012). Anaemia status in the iron group improved compared to the placebo group (p = 0.03). Continued long-term routine use of micronutrient powder containing prophylactic iron reduced anaemia, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia among pre-school children living in rural Ghana's malaria endemic area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T20:03:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-12c2433245b84523aedc57f14a0b2b72 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T20:03:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-12c2433245b84523aedc57f14a0b2b722022-12-21T21:34:22ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01162e024636210.1371/journal.pone.0246362Impact of iron fortification on anaemia and iron deficiency among pre-school children living in Rural Ghana.Samuel Kofi TchumFareed Kow ArthurBright AduSamuel Asamoah SakyiLatifatu Alhassan AbubakarDorcas AtibillaSeeba Amenga-EtegoFelix Boakye OppongFrancis DzabengBenjamin AmoaniThomas GyanEmmanuel ArhinKwaku Poku-AsanteAnaemia in young sub-Saharan African children may be due to the double burden of malaria and iron deficiency. Primary analysis of a double-blind, cluster randomized trial of iron containing micronutrient powder supplementation in Ghanaian children aged 6 to 35 months found no difference in malaria risk between intervention and placebo groups. Here, we performed a secondary analysis of the trial data to assess the impact of long-term prophylactic iron fortificant on the risk of iron deficiency and anaemia in trial subjects. This population-based randomized-cluster trial involved 1958 children aged between 6 to 35 months, identified at home and able to eat semi-solid foods. The intervention group (n = 967) received a daily dose containing 12.5 mg elemental iron (as ferrous fumarate), vitamin A (400 μg), ascorbic acid (30 mg) and zinc (5 mg). The placebo group (n = 991) received a similar micronutrient powder but without iron. Micronutrient powder was provided daily to both groups for 5 months. At baseline and endline, health assessment questionnaires were administered and blood samples collected for analysis. The two groups had similar baseline anthropometry, anaemia, iron status, demographic characteristics, and dietary intakes (p > 0.05). Of the 1904 (97.2%) children who remained at the end of the intervention, the intervention group had significantly higher haemoglobin (p = 0.0001) and serum ferritin (p = 0.0002) levels than the placebo group. Soluble transferrin receptor levels were more saturated among children from the iron group compared to non-iron group (p = 0.012). Anaemia status in the iron group improved compared to the placebo group (p = 0.03). Continued long-term routine use of micronutrient powder containing prophylactic iron reduced anaemia, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia among pre-school children living in rural Ghana's malaria endemic area.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246362 |
| spellingShingle | Samuel Kofi Tchum Fareed Kow Arthur Bright Adu Samuel Asamoah Sakyi Latifatu Alhassan Abubakar Dorcas Atibilla Seeba Amenga-Etego Felix Boakye Oppong Francis Dzabeng Benjamin Amoani Thomas Gyan Emmanuel Arhin Kwaku Poku-Asante Impact of iron fortification on anaemia and iron deficiency among pre-school children living in Rural Ghana. PLoS ONE |
| title | Impact of iron fortification on anaemia and iron deficiency among pre-school children living in Rural Ghana. |
| title_full | Impact of iron fortification on anaemia and iron deficiency among pre-school children living in Rural Ghana. |
| title_fullStr | Impact of iron fortification on anaemia and iron deficiency among pre-school children living in Rural Ghana. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of iron fortification on anaemia and iron deficiency among pre-school children living in Rural Ghana. |
| title_short | Impact of iron fortification on anaemia and iron deficiency among pre-school children living in Rural Ghana. |
| title_sort | impact of iron fortification on anaemia and iron deficiency among pre school children living in rural ghana |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246362 |
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