Treament and prevention of anemia with ferrous sulfate plus folic acid in children attending daycare centers in Goiânia, Goiás State, Brazil: a randomized controlled trial

• Autor(a) principal: Hadler, Maria Claret Costa Monteiro [UNIFESP]
• Data de Publicação: 2008
• Outros Autores: Sigulem, Dirce Maria [UNIFESP], Alves, Maria de Fátima Costa, Torres, Vinícius Montenegro
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNIFESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2008001400011; http://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/4134
• topic: Nutritional Epidemiology; Anemia; Ferrous Sulfate; Folic Acid; Child Day Care Centers; Epidemiologia Nutricional; Anemia; Sulfato Ferroso; Ácido Fólico; Creches

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of anemia and the therapeutic and prophylactic response to ferrous sulfate and folic acid. A double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted with 196 children 6 to 24 months of age enrolled in municipal daycare centers in Goiânia, Goiás State, Brazil. The children were assigned to two treatment groups that received a daily dose (5 times a week) of either 4.2mg/kg/day of ferrous sulfate + folic acid (50µg) or 4.2mg/kg/day of ferrous sulfate + folic acid placebo. One of the prevention groups received 1.4mg/kg/day of ferrous sulfate + folic acid (50µg/day) and the other 1.4mg/kg/day of ferrous sulfate + folic acid placebo. Supplementation lasted approximately three months. Baseline anemia prevalence was 56.1% (95%CI: 48.9-63.1). After treatment, anemia prevalence in the folic acid group (14%) was lower than in the placebo group (34.9%) (p = 0.02). After prophylaxis in the non-anemic children, the incidence of anemia did not differ between the groups, but there was an increase in hemoglobin level in the folic acid group (p = 0.003). Iron plus folic acid was effective for the treatment of anemia and improvement of hemoglobin level in non-anemic children.