HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lee, J.-I. Articles by Lim, H.-S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lee, J.-I. Articles by Lim, H.-S. Agricola Articles by Lee, J.-I. Articles by Lim, H.-S.

Effect of time of initiation and dose of prenatal iron and folic acid supplementation on iron and folate nutriture of Korean women during pregnancy^1,2,3,4

¹ From the Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea

Background: In Korea, it is customary to prescribe iron and folic acid supplements to pregnant women after the 20th wk of gestation; however, little evidence exists to support this practice.

Objective: The objective was to determine the effects of time of initiation and dose of prenatal iron and folic acid supplementation on the iron and folate nutriture of Korean women during pregnancy.

Design: A total of 131 pregnant women were placed into 1 of 5 experimental groups, either the control group or 1 of 4 supplemented groups. The supplemented groups varied by time of initiation, which was either during the first trimester or at week 20 of gestation, and by dose of iron and folic acid supplements provided, which consisted of either 30 mg Fe plus 175 µg folic acid or 60 mg Fe plus 350 µg folic acid. All supplemented groups continued supplementation until delivery.

Results: Improvements in iron and folate nutriture were highly dependent on when the supplement program was initiated, but both supplement doses were equally effective. In contrast, the influence of folic acid supplementation on maternal folate status was not as pronounced as was the influence of iron supplementation on iron status.

Conclusion: In pregnant Korean women, initiating iron and folic acid supplementation earlier during pregnancy may prevent the deterioration of iron and folate nutriture more than does increasing supplement doses in later stages of pregnancy.

Key Words: Iron • folic acid • homocysteine • pregnancy • supplementation