Iron absorption from oral iron supplements given on consecutive versus alternate days and as single morning doses versus twice-daily split dosing in iron-depleted women: two open-label, randomised controlled trials

Publication date: Available online 9 October 2017 Source:The Lancet Haematology Author(s): Nicole U Stoffel, Colin I Cercamondi, Gary Brittenham, Christophe Zeder, Anneke J Geurts-Moespot, Dorine W Swinkels, Diego Moretti, Michael B Zimmermann Background Current guidelines to treat iron deficiency recommend daily provision of ferrous iron divided through the day to increase absorption. However, daily dosing and split dosing might increase serum hepcidin and decrease iron absorption from subsequent doses. Our study aim was to compare iron absorption from oral iron supplements given on consecutive versus alternate days and given as single morning doses versus twice-daily split dosing. Methods We did two prospective, open-label, randomised controlled trials assessing iron absorption using (54Fe)-labelled, (57Fe)-labelled, or (58Fe)-labelled ferrous sulfate in iron-depleted (serum ferritin ≤25 μg/L) women aged 18–40 years recruited from ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, Switzerland. In study 1, women were randomly assigned (1:1) to two groups. One group was given 60 mg iron at 0800 h (±1 h) on consecutive days for 14 days, and the other group was given the same doses on alternate days for 28 days. In study 2, women were assigned to two groups, stratified by serum ferritin so that two groups with similar iron statuses could be formed. One group was given 120 mg iron at 0800 h (±1 h) and the other was given the dose split into two divided doses of 60 mg at ...
Source: The Lancet Haematology - Category: Hematology Source Type: research