Authors : Mohamad Khademloo , Abolghasem Ajami , Alireza R. Khalilian and Niloofar Motamed
Abstract: Iron deficiency and its related anemia is a major and common problem during pregnancy in different countries such as Iran. Despite of Iron sulfate administration as a supplement drug,anemia is still a common problem in our country. The aim of this study was comparing the effectiveness of weekly and daily iron supplementation on hemoglobin and serum ferritin indexes among pregnant women under supervision of rural health centers of Mazandaran province. This is a randomized controlled field trial study. One-hundred fifty pregnant women were selected among pregnant mothers referred to rural health centers of Mazandaran province. Then they divided in two weekly and daily iron supplementation equal groups. The daily supplemented group received one ferrous sulfate tablet containing 50 mg of elemental iron. The weekly supplemented group, received 2 ferrous sulfate tablets once a week containing 100 mg of elemental iron. Hemoglobin and serum ferritin concentration were measured before and after the intervention and then after 12 weeks of supplementation. Background variables such as previous history of delivery, pregnancy, abortion and anemia and education level were matched between the groups. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS 10 software using single and pair t-test. After 12 week of iron supplementation, the mean hemoglobin changes were 0.45±0.57 mg dL 1 in the weekly supplemented group and 0.49±0.76 mg dL 1 in the daily supplemented group. The difference noted between the groups was not significant (p>0.05). The mean ferritin changes in weekly and daily iron supplemented groups were 6.8±1.37 and 6.39±1.40, respectively (p>0.05). According to the results and tendency of women to the weekly regimen and less consumption of ferrous sulfate pills in this group, weekly regimen is recommended for supplementation.
Mohamad Khademloo , Abolghasem Ajami , Alireza R. Khalilian and Niloofar Motamed , 2008. Comparison of the Effectiveness of Weekly and Daily Iron Supplementation on Hemoglobin and Serum Ferritin Concentration among Pregnant Women under Control of Rural Health Centers of Mazandaran Province in 2004 . Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 3: 229-232.