NCT00760890

Brief Summary

Normal breastfed infants can develop iron deficiency by 6 months of age. This trial tested the hypothesis that regular provision of a source of iron beginning at 4 months of age improves iron status and could prevent iron deficiency. This was a prospective randomized trial involving breastfed infants. To be eligible, infants had to be predominantly breastfed (\<200 ml/day of formula) at 4 months of age. At 4 months infants were randomly assigned to one of two interventions or to control. The interventions consisted in the daily administration of medicinal iron in a dose of 7.5 mg (Medicinal Iron Group) or in the daily feeding of one jar of an iron-fortified cereal providing 7 mg of iron each day (Cereal Group). The control group received complementary foods chosen by he parents but no source of iron provided by the investigators. The interventions took place from 4 to 9 months. All infants were subsequently followed to 2 years of age.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
171

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Jun 2001

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

June 1, 2001

Completed
4 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

June 1, 2005

Completed
4 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

October 1, 2005

Completed
3 years until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

September 25, 2008

Completed
1 day until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

September 26, 2008

Completed
Last Updated

September 26, 2008

Status Verified

September 1, 2008

Enrollment Period

4 years

First QC Date

September 25, 2008

Last Update Submit

September 25, 2008

Conditions

Keywords

Iron, breastfed infant

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Iron status

    3 times during the intervention

Secondary Outcomes (2)

  • Growth

    At the end of intervention

  • Tolerance (gastrointestinal)

    During intervention

Study Arms (3)

A

EXPERIMENTAL

Medicinal Iron

Dietary Supplement: Fer-In-Sol (ferrous sulfate)

B

EXPERIMENTAL

Iron fortified wet pack cereal

Dietary Supplement: Iron fortified cereal

C

NO INTERVENTION

Control

Interventions

7.5 mg/day in the form of 0.3 ml once each day

A
Iron fortified cerealDIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

1 jar each day of one of three wet pack cereals manufactured by the Gerber Company: Each jar provided 7 mg of ferrous sulfate.

B

Eligibility Criteria

Age1 Month - 24 Months
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsChild (0-17)

You may qualify if:

  • Predominantly breastfed (at 4 months) term infants

You may not qualify if:

  • Not predominantly breastfed at 4 months
  • Premature infants

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Fomon Infant Nutrition Unit

Iowa City, Iowa, 52242, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Ziegler EE, Nelson SE, Jeter JM. Iron status of breastfed infants is improved equally by medicinal iron and iron-fortified cereal. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jul;90(1):76-87. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2008.27350. Epub 2009 May 20.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Iron Deficiencies

Interventions

ferrous sulfate

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Iron Metabolism DisordersMetabolic DiseasesNutritional and Metabolic Diseases

Study Officials

  • Ekhard E Ziegler, M.D.

    University of Iowa

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
PREVENTION
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
NIH

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

September 25, 2008

First Posted

September 26, 2008

Study Start

June 1, 2001

Primary Completion

June 1, 2005

Study Completion

October 1, 2005

Last Updated

September 26, 2008

Record last verified: 2008-09

Locations