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  • Original Article
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Prenatal iron supplementation in rural Vietnam

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 62, pages 946–952 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To assess the potential impact of a national iron supplementation programme in rural Vietnam.

Methods:

The study included questionnaires, focus group discussions of pregnant women and key informant interviews, together with measurements of haemoglobin (Hb) and a stool examination for soil-transmitted helminths.

Results:

Iron supplementation significantly increased Hb concentration among participants in the second and third trimesters by 0.4 and 0.7 g/dl, respectively (P=0.017 and P<0.001). The risk of anaemia (Hb <10.0 g/dl) was increased significantly by hookworm infestation (P=0.041) and in summer season (P=0.001) and was decreased significantly by taking iron tablets (P=0.041).

Conclusions:

The results of this study show that an iron supplementation programme is beneficial as a part of a comprehensive anaemia programme for pregnant women in these communities. These results will be useful for developing improved iron-deficiency anaemia control programs for pregnant women.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Japanese Cooperation Agency (JICA) from February 2002 to February 2004. We acknowledge the assistance of people who worked in the field survey. We thank all the participants of this survey and the staff of commune health centres, district health service of Yen Thanh district, preventive medical centre of Nghe An province, Dr Thuy Hoa and Dr Nyguen Lan in National Institute of Nutrition for their assistance in the field survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia

    R Aikawa & C W Binns

  2. Department of International Community Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    M Jimba

  3. National Institute of Nutrition, Hanoi, Vietnam

    K C Nguen

Authors
  1. R Aikawa
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  2. M Jimba
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  3. K C Nguen
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  4. C W Binns
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C W Binns.

Additional information

Contributors: RA is a principle investigator, MJ is a co-investigator, KCN is a co-investigator in Vietnam, and CWB participated in the design of the study, statistic analysis and manuscript review. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Aikawa, R., Jimba, M., Nguen, K. et al. Prenatal iron supplementation in rural Vietnam. Eur J Clin Nutr 62, 946–952 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602812

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