Journal of health, population, and nutrition
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J Health Popul Nutr · Jun 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialDo side-effects reduce compliance to iron supplementation? A study of daily- and weekly-dose regimens in pregnancy.
Side-effects of iron supplementation lead to poor compliance. A weekly-dose schedule of iron supplementation rather than a daily-dose regimen has been suggested to produce fewer side-effects, thereby achieving a higher compliance. This study compared side-effects of iron supplementation and their impact on compliance among pregnant women in Bangladesh. ⋯ In conclusion, weekly supplementation of iron in pregnancy had a higher compliance compared to daily supplementation of iron despite a higher frequency of side-effects. The findings support the view that gastrointestinal side-effects generally have a limited influence on compliance, at least in the dose ranges studied. Efforts to further reduce side-effects of iron supplementation may not be a successful strategy for improving compliance and effectiveness of antenatal iron supplementation.