The Effect of Iron and Folic Acid Therapy on Combined Iron and Folate Deficiency Anaemia: The Results of a Clinical Trial

Pregnant women with anaemia due to combined iron and folate deficiencies were randomly divided into 3 groups receiving either combination therapy with iron and pteroylglutamic acid, or treatment with iron or pteroylglutamic acid olone. A fourth group of pregnant women with levels of Hb above 10 g/100 ml received placebo. Combined iron and folate administration resulted in a marked therapeutic response, while mild or insignificant improvement was associated with either iron or folic acid teratment alone. The Hb concentration of the women receiving placebo dropped gradually in most instances. The results reported here suggest that in populations with a high prevalence of iron and folate deficiencies both these compounds should be supplied in order to prevent anaemia. The possible causal relationship between iron and folate deficiencies are discussed in the light of the present results and relevant literature.