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Iron state in female adolescents
A Ballin1, M Berar, U Rubinstein
1Institute of Haematology, E. Wolfson Hospital, Holon and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Objective:
To document a subjective response to iron therapy in female adolescents.
Design:
Double-blind, placebo-controlled prospective study.
Setting:
High school classes in an urban community in Israel.
Participants:
Twenty-nine girls, aged 16 and 17 years, who ingested syrup containing iron (daily for 2 months) and 30 girls who received a placebo.
Main Results:
By the end of the study, a statistically significant improvement in three subjective parameters, ie, lassitude, the ability to concentrate in school, and mood was reported by the girls who ingested iron compared with the controls. Sixty-five percent, 100%, and 65% of the girls, respectively, who reported improvement in the above-mentioned parameters were hypoferremic initially and became normoferremic by the end of the study.
Conclusion:
Iron supplementation may be of benefit to female adolescents, as evidenced by their responses to subjective parameters.