Physical work capacity of young underprivileged school girls: Impact of daily vs intermittent iron-folic acid supplementation – A randomized controlled trial.
Indian Pediatr
;
2009 Oct; 46(10): 849-854
Article
in English
| IMSEAR
| ID: sea-144193
ABSTRACT
Objectives:
To assess impact of daily and intermittent iron-folate (IFA) supplementation on physical work capacity of underprivileged schoolgirls in Vadodara.Design:
Randomized controlled trial.Setting:
Municipal Primary schools.Participants:
Schoolgirls (n=163) in the age group of 9-13 years. Intervention Three randomly selected schools were given IFA tablets (100 mg elemental iron + 0.5 mg folic acid) either once weekly or twice weekly or daily for one year. The fourth was the control school. OutcomeMeasures:
Hemoglobin, modified Harvard's Step test for physical work capacity.Results:
All three IFA supplemented groups showed significant improvement in number of steps climbed and recovery time compared to controls; with impact being relatively better in girls with higher Hb gain (>1 g/dL) vs. lower Hb gain. Similarly, higher the frequency of dosing better was the impact- it being the best in daily IFA group. Twice weekly IFA was as good as daily IFA under conditions of good compliance.Conclusion:
Twice weekly IFA supplementation is comparable to daily IFA in terms of beneficial effects on physical work capacity in young girls.
Full text:
Available
Index:
IMSEAR (South-East Asia)
Main subject:
Socioeconomic Factors
/
Students
/
Work
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Hemoglobins
/
Drug Administration Schedule
/
Child
/
Longitudinal Studies
/
Adolescent
Type of study:
Controlled clinical trial
/
Observational study
Language:
English
Journal:
Indian Pediatr
Year:
2009
Type:
Article
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