Effect of daily or weekly multiple-micronutrient and iron foodlike tablets on body iron stores of Indonesian infants aged 6-12 mo: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: There is still uncertainty about the best procedure to alleviate iron deficiency. Additionally more reliable methods are needed to assess the effect of iron intervention.

Objective: We examined the efficacy of daily iron (10 mg), daily and weekly multiple-micronutrient supplementation (10 and 20 mg Fe, respectively) in improving body iron stores of Indonesian infants.

Design: Infants aged 6-12 mo were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 groups: daily multiple-micronutrients (DMM) foodlike tablets (foodLETs), weekly multiple-micronutrient (WMM) foodLETs, daily iron (DI) foodLETs, or daily placebo. Hemoglobin, ferritin, transferrin receptors, and C-reactive protein data were obtained at baseline and 23 wk.

Results: Body iron estimated from the ratio of transferrin receptors to ferritin was analyzed for 244 infants. At baseline, mean iron stores (0.5 +/- 4.1 mg/kg) did not differ among the groups, and 45.5% infants had deficits in tissue iron (body iron < 0). At week 23, the group DI had the highest increment in mean body iron (4.0 mg/kg), followed by the DMM group (2.3 mg/kg; P < 0.001 for both). The iron stores in the WMM group did not change, whereas the mean body iron declined in the daily placebo group (-2.2 mg/kg; P < 0.001). Compared with the daily placebo group, the DMM group gained 4.55 mg Fe/kg, the DI group gained 6.23 mg Fe/kg (both P < 0.001), and the WMM group gained 2.54 mg Fe/kg (P = 0.001).

Conclusions: When compliance can be ensured, DI and DMM foodLETs are efficacious in improving and WMM is efficacious in maintaining iron stores among Indonesian infants.