Iron State in Female Adolescents

OBJECTIVE: To document a subjective response to iron therapy in female adolescents. DESIGN: Double-blind, placebo-controlled prospective study. SETTING: High school classes in an urban community in Israel. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-nine girls, aged 16 and 17 years, who ingested syrup containing iron (daily for 2 months) and 30 girls who received a placebo. MAIN RESULTS: By the end of the study, a statistically significant improvement in three subjective parameters, ie, lassitude, the ability to concentrate in school, and mood was reported by the girls who ingested iron compared with the controls. Sixty-five percent, 100%, and 65% of the girls, respectively, who reported improvement in the above-mentioned parameters were hypoferremic initially and became normoferremic by the end of the study. CONCLUSION: Iron supplementation may be of benefit to female adolescents, as evidenced by their responses to subjective parameters.