Sci. & Tech.
'Sprinkles' reduce anaemia in kids by more than half: Study

Washington, July 28 (PTI): With iron deficiency a major and serious health issue facing three-quarters of the children in India, a nutritional supplement known as Sprinkles when added to children's food reduces anaemia by more than half, a recent study has found.

"Sprinkles are an effective and practical tool in reducing anaemia among children. When combined with other food aid initiatives, the potential impact is huge," Director of IFPRI's Food Consumption and Nutrition Division and a Co-author of the study, Marie Ruel, said.

"Sprinkles hold the potential to dramatically reduce anemia, which undermines the livelihoods of children across the developing world," Ruel said.

The study is the first to show that Sprinkles are effective in reducing anaemia when included in an on-going fortified food aid program implemented under challenging real-life conditions in developing countries, the findings published in the Journal of Nutrition said.

The research, conducted by IFPRI and Cornell University's Division of Nutritional Sciences, offers promising insights on how to reduce iron and other micronutrient deficiencies among poor people in developing countries.

The principal study was conducted in Haiti, but the process was also tested out in some countries, including India, with results showing a significant rise in Haemoglobin content with no difference in age groups.

It is being pointed out that deficiencies in iron and other micronutrients are a devastating problem worldwide, causing poor health, premature death, and impaired development.

Children aged six to 24 months are more prone to iron-deficiency anemia, the study said.

In India, anaemia is a serious health issue for women and young children, where 74% of children and over 50 per cent of adolescent girls and women of reproductive age are anaemic.

In order to test the lowest efficacious dose of iron to use in Sprinkles, three doses (12.5 mg, 20 mg, 30 mg) and two forms of iron (ferrous fumarate and micronized ferric pyrophosphate) were examined and compared to the standard treatment, iron drops in a randomized controlled trial designed to look at their effect on haemoglobin.

The key findings of the study in India were: Haemoglobin rose significantly in all groups after 8 weeks with no differences between groups; Ferritin levels increased and serum transferring receptor decreased significantly in all groups at 8 weeks with no differences between groups; compliance ranged from 42- 62% and was lowest in the iron drops group (42%).

More side effects were reported in the iron drops group as compared to the group taking Sprinkles.

"Sprinkles are one of the most promising innovations in nutrition today," said Purnima Menon, lead author of the study and research associate in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University.

"They offer an inexpensive option that mothers seem to love and children can consume easily," Menon said.

The IFPRI has said that while the study took place in Haiti, its implications are global. Sprinkles have been tried in other developing countries, such as Bangladesh, Ghana, and Indonesia, and were found to be a very effective way to reduce micro-nutrient deficiencies.