OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of recent supplement use in a national sample of preschool children and to examine the relationship of maternal and child characteristics, past maternal supplement use practices, familial, health services, and child health factors associated with supplement use. METHODS We used data on 8285 preschool children whose mothers were interviewed for the 1991 Lon...

In 2006, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund released a joint statement advising that, in regions where the prevalence of malaria and other infectious diseases is high, iron and folic acid supplementation should be limited to those who are identified as iron-deficient. Although precipitated, in large part, by a recent report of adverse events associated with iro...

A 20-month-old boy presented with a 2-week history of pallor and progressive abdominal distention. Nutritional history revealed long-standing excessive cow milk intake. He was subsequently found to be profoundly iron deficient and hypoproteinemic, with an elevated fecal α-1-antitrypsin level and occult blood positive stool, consistent with protein-losing enteropathy. He was treated with cow mil...

A social marketing program promoting weekly iron-folic acid supplementation improved hemoglobin levels in women of reproductive age in Cambodia. Supplementation was increasingly effective among women of higher socioeconomic status (SES). Among higher SES schoolgirls, 58% took the supplements, compared with 49% for lower SES (P = 0.07). Garment factory workers with an 11th- or 12th-grade educati...

BACKGROUND In Pakistan, 51% of women are anaemic in pregnancy yet only 44% of women use antenatal iron-folic acid (IFA) supplements. Little information exits on the perception and barriers to the use of IFA supplements during pregnancy in Pakistan. The aim of the study was to understand women and healthcare providers' perceptions, and to investigate the cultural and behavioural factors influenc...

Anemia is defined by a decrease in hemoglobin concentration, with a consequent decrease in hematocrit. It is the most common medical disorder in pregnancy. The 2 most common causes of anemia are iron deficiency and acute blood loss at delivery [1]. Depending on the severity of the blood loss, anemic postpartum patients can be at increased risk for morbidity and even mortality [2], and anemia du...

Two iron transporters, divalent metal transporter1 (DMT1) and ferroportin1 (FPN1) have been identified; however, their role during infancy is unknown. We investigated DMT1, FPN1, ferritin, and transferrin receptor expression, iron absorption and tissue iron in iron-deficient rat pups, iron-deficient rat pups given iron supplements, and controls during early (day 10) and late infancy (day 20). W...

An adequate supply of iron is essential for normal development of the fetus and newborn child. Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) during pregnancy increase the risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. Iron is important for development of the fetal brain and cognitive abilities of the newborn. Children born to iron-deficient mothers will start their lives suffering from iron def...