Haematologic response of anaemic preschool children to ascorbic acid supplementation.

: Fifty-four anaemic preschool children, all consuming similar, purely vegetarian, diets were randomly divided equally into an experimental and a control group. The children in the experimental group received 100 mg ascorbic acid twice a day, with lunch and with dinner, for 60 days. The controls received sugar placebos. Initially and at the end of the intervention, haemoglobin (Hb) and red cell morphology were estimated in all children. The children who received ascorbic acid supplements showed a significant improvement in Hb level as well as in red cell morphology, while the controls showed no change. Chemical analysis of the diets of a subsample showed ascorbic acid intakes to be very low.