Iron Supplements Fine for Anemic Kids With Colds

They don't increase stomach upset or other side effects, study finds

MONDAY, Feb. 3, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Iron supplements benefit anemic children even when they have colds.

A new study found that when anemic children with a cold or other upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) took iron supplements, it improved their iron status without increasing stomach upset or causing any other side effects.

Conflicting findings from previous research has made doctors cautious about giving iron supplements to anemic children with colds or other upper respiratory tract infections.

This study included children recruited from a hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. During the study, 127 children with URTIs were given iron supplements of 60 milligrams a day, and 52 other children with URTIs were given a placebo.

Also, 134 children without URTIs were given iron and 50 were given the placebo.

The study found that of the children with infections, those who received the iron supplements had 29 percent fewer upper respiratory episodes than the children who received a placebo. And the children with infections who received the iron supplements had infectious episodes that were 40 percent less severe than the children who received placebos.

The findings appear in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

More information

Here's where you can learn more about anemia.

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