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Amino Acid Chelated Iron Versus Ferric Ammonium Citrate on Iron Status in Egyptian Children with Iron Deficiency
Hanan Hamed1, Ola M Abdel Samie1,2, Ayat A Motawie1
1Pediatrics Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, 12622 Giza, Cairo Egypt.
Insights
Iron amino acid chelated (AACI) and ferric ammonium citrate (FAC) both improved iron status in anemic children. AACI showed a notable increase in hemoglobin and ferritin levels over eight weeks.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Hematology
- Nutritional Science
- Clinical Nutrition
Background:
- Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a prevalent nutritional disorder in school-aged children globally.
- Limited comparative data exists on the efficacy of different iron compounds for treating IDA in this demographic.
- Understanding the relative effectiveness of various iron supplements is crucial for optimizing treatment strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of iron amino acid chelated (AACI) preparation against ferric ammonium citrate (FAC) in treating iron deficiency anemia in school-aged children.
- To evaluate key iron status indicators following supplementation with AACI versus FAC.
Main Methods:
- A randomized clinical study involved 160 children aged 5-13 years diagnosed with iron deficiency.
- Participants were randomized to receive either AACI or FAC supplementation once daily for eight weeks.
- Comprehensive laboratory investigations including CBC, serum iron, and serum ferritin were conducted at baseline and follow-up.
Main Results:
- Both AACI and FAC groups showed improvements in hemoglobin, MCV, serum iron, and serum ferritin levels.
- The AACI group exhibited statistically significant increases in hemoglobin (p=0.01) and serum ferritin (p=0.001).
- While both improved iron indices, no statistically significant difference was noted between AACI and FAC in overall effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- Iron amino acid chelated (AACI) preparation demonstrated significant improvements in iron status indices.
- Ferric ammonium citrate (FAC) also led to improvements in iron status indicators.
- The study suggests comparable efficacy between AACI and FAC in treating iron deficiency anemia in school-aged children, with AACI showing particularly strong results in hemoglobin and ferritin levels.
Abstract:
Few studies have compared the relative effectiveness of different iron compounds on iron status in school-age children with iron deficiency anemia. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of iron amino acid chelated (AACI) preparation versus ferric ammonium citrate (FAC) in treatment of iron deficiency anemia.
Patients And Methods:
A randomized, clinical study was conducted on one hundred and sixty children aged 5-13 years old proved to have iron deficiency according to guide lines of WHO, 2001. All included children were subjected to the following laboratory investigations: CBC, reticulocytic count, CRP, serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), serum ferritin (SF), and serum hepcidin. Patients were assigned to two treatment regimens on randomized base 1:1 either to supplement with (AACI) or (FAC) once daily at bedtime. The subjects were followed up for eight weeks.
Results:
At the end of the study, group 1 who received AACI had increase in: Hb from 9.9 ± 1.1to 11.5 ± 0.3 gm/l(p = 0.01), MCV(fl) from 63.57.7 ± to 69 ± 6.3 (p = 0.05), serum iron from 49.5 ± 5.8 to 87 ± 12.7ug/dl(p = 0.001), serum ferritin from26.2 ± 10.5to 116.4 ± 19.7ng/ml(p = 0.001) while in group 2 who received FAC, there was increase in: HB from10.1 ± 1.7 to 11.2 ± 0.8, (p = 0.1), MCV from 64.5 ± 8.02 to 73.2 ± 8.9 (p = 0.01), serum iron from 48.2 ± 3.5to74 .3 ± 15 ug/dl (p = 0.01) and serum ferritin from 28.1 ± 9.3 to 84.3 ± 15.2 ng/ml (p = 0.006).
Conclusion:
Our study showed much improvement in iron status indices in AACI preparation with no significant statistically difference between it and FAC.
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