Routine iron supplementation for non-anaemic pregnant women in developed countries needs evaluation

Commentary on: Cantor AG, Bougatsos C, Dana T, et al. Routine iron supplementation and screening for iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy: a systematic review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med 2015;162:566–76[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3]. The role of appropriate nutrition and micronutrient intake in pregnancy is well established and 19.2% of pregnant women globally are estimated to have iron deficiency anaemia (IDA).1 The corresponding estimates for the Americas and Caribbean are 15.2% (11.7–18.6%) and for Europe 16.2% (12.6–19.7%). Anaemia in pregnancy is associated with increased risk of adverse outcomes for the mother and baby. Iron (and folic acid) supplements during pregnancy in women at risk of IDA are an important recommendation by the WHO.2 However, it is unclear if women should receive targeted supplementation (after screening … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DAnn%2BIntern%2BMed%26rft.volume%253D162%26rft.spage%253D566%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.7326%252FM14-2932%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F25820661%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.7326/M14-2932&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=25820661&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febmed%2F20%2F6%2F208.atom