2007 Volume 24 Pages 59-64
Students in agrarian villages of rural Cambodia are supposed to suffer high rates of iron-deficiency anemia in the context of a monotonous diet. To compare the efficacy and safety of daily consumption of 10 mg of iron in form of FeSO4+ citric acid (Fe+CA group) and NaFeEDTA (Fe-EDTA group), each mixed in 10 mL of Khmer fish sauce as compared to a fish sauce placebo control with no iron added (Control group). A total of 140 students aged 6 to 21 years were enrolled in double blind, placebo-controlled intervention trial. They were randomly allocated to one of three treatment groups, and followed for 21 weeks including 12 national holidays (6 days/week). During this time 104 meals with 10 mL of fish sauce added were offered to each participant. Initial and final measurements of body weight and spinal length, of the concentrations of hemoglobin (Hb), ferritin (Fr) and C-reactive protein were obtained. The two different iron-fortified fish sauce increased Hb and Fr significantly as compared to the control group. No significant differences were observed between Fe+CA and Fe-EDTA fortification, neither regarding mitigation of iron-deficiency anemia nor regarding side-effects. Fe+CA and Fe-EDTA showed equivalent efficacy and safety during the intervention study. National launch of iron fortified fish sauce is one of the promising strategies to combat iron deficiency anemia in Cambodia.
