Drinking water as an iron carrier to control anemia in preschool children in a day-care center.

Abstract

Fe-enriched drinking water was shown to be a practical alternative to supply Fe to children attending a day-care institution.

Randomized Controlled Trial of Iron-Fortified Drinking Water in Preschool Children

“…Children with hemoglobin $9.5-11.0 g/dL, despite presenting some degree of anemia, were not excluded, as drinking-water fortification has been shown in previously published studies [10][11][12][13][14] to be an effective form of treatment for moderate anemia.…”

“…Four of these studies describe the fortification of water with ascorbic acid [11][12][13][14]. The quantity of iron used in these studies was also different-20 mg Fe/L in one study [10], 12 mg Fe/L in another study [12], and 10 mg Fe/L in the other 3 studies [11,13,14]. Despite the fact that these studies were technically well designed and significant results were obtained, a randomized, double-blind study with a placebo control is needed that will evaluate the addition of different concentrations of iron to water to achieve optimal adherence, without other products that could enhance absorption.…”

“…In 5 studies published starting from 1994 [10][11][12][13][14], the authors describe improvement in nutritional status in terms of iron, when a single concentration of iron was used. None of the studies were double-blind or randomized, and only 2 had a placebo control group [11,14].…”

Aceitabilidade de pão fortificado com ferro microencapsulado por crianças de creches das regiões sul e leste da cidade de São Paulo

“…Vários trabalhos com alimentos fortificados para crianças no Brasil referiram boa aceitabilidade, porém não realizaram grupo-controle como, por exemplo, os estudos com água fortificada de Beinner et al 23 e de Dutra de Oliveira et al 27 . Em ambos os estudos, as crianças consumiam a água fortificada ad libitum (cerca de 500mL/dia), porém essa era a única fonte de água disponível.…”

Iron Food Fortification for the Control of Childhood Anemia in Brazil

“…Drinking water, other than used for drinking, is commonly used for preparation of foods, which may contribute even more towards increasing iron ingestion (Ferreira et al, 1991). Dutra de Oliveira et al (1994) evaluated 31 preschool children aged two to six years enrolled in daycare facilities in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo. During eight months, children consumed iron-fortified drinking water (20 mg Fe/Liter) which resulted in a significant decrease in the prevalence of anemia.…”