Effects of dietary and iron supplementation on hematocrit levels of preschool children

Abstract

The effects of a 5 week period of dietary and medicinal iron supplementation on hematocrit levels of a group of preschool children from low socioeconomic backgrounds were studied. Two thirds of all children showed no change in hematocrit levels. Diet alone and diet plus 30 mg. of elemental iron per day were associated with statistically significant increases in mean hematocrit level. A slightly greater increase in mean hematocrit was seen in the iron-supplemented group. This study indicates that although severe nutritional anemia is not a common problem in this group of children, short-term improvement in nutrition is followed by significant increases in hematocrit. Only slight additive effect was obtained by the use of medicinal iron in the diet. It is suggested that an increase in hematocrit or hemoglobin level following therapy may constitute a better indicator of the prevalence of nutritional deficiency than a single measurement of such parameters as hemoglobin, hematocrit, or serum iron.