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

Abstract

Several foods have been used as iron (Fe) carriers to fight widespread global Fe deficiency and anemia. This paper describes the longitudinal effect of Fe-fortified drinking water given to a group of Brazilian preschool children. The experimental design included 31 preschool children who attended a day-care institution. Hemoglobin and serum ferritin were the blood parameters used to check the Fe status. Fe++ sulfate (20 mg Fe/L) was added daily to their drinking water container and measurements were obtained before the addition, 4 and 8 months later. The number of Fe-deficient children decreased drastically after they started drinking the Fe-enriched water. Mean hemoglobin values increased from 10.6 to 13.7 g/dL and serum ferritin from 13.7 to 25.6 micrograms/L. There were no problems related to the salt addition or to the children drinking the Fe-enriched water. Fe-enriched drinking water was shown to be a practical alternative to supply Fe to children attending a day-care institution.