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Novel Approaches to Oral Iron Supplementation

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Nutritional Anemia

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

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Abstract

Oral iron supplementation is the first line of treatment for iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia. Treatment schedules usually entail the daily provision of a total of 100–200 mg elemental Fe in single or in divided doses. Iron absorption from supplements is generally low, 5–25% when administered in fasting state, and 0.5–13% when consumed with meals. Recent studies suggest that oral iron doses ≥60 mg elicit an acute iron-induced rise in hepcidin, which reduces iron absorption of a subsequent dose at 24 h, but not at 48 h. Alternate day dosing provides higher fractional iron absorption than daily dosing and may, by providing an overall lower Fe dose, lower gastrointestinal side effects. Dividing high iron doses into multiple lower doses spread over the day does not provide benefits regarding the total amount of iron absorbed and should not be recommended. Recent guidelines suggest that daily morning doses of 50–100 mg iron on alternate days may be a viable treatment option for oral iron supplementation in iron-deficient patients with or without mild anemia. To be widely adopted, these findings need further confirmation in different patient groups in long-term double blind, randomized controlled trials.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health, Nutrition Group, Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences (FFHS), Zürich, Switzerland

    Diego Moretti

  2. Department of Health, Nutrition Group, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Zürich, Switzerland

    Diego Moretti

  3. Laboratory of Human Nutrition, Department for Health Sciences and Technology (D-HEST), Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health (IFNH), ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Nicole U. Stoffel

Authors
  1. Diego Moretti
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  2. Nicole U. Stoffel
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Correspondence to Diego Moretti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Human Nutrition, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Crystal D. Karakochuk

  2. Institute of Food Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Michael B. Zimmermann

  3. Department of Health, University of Applied Sciences of South Switzerland (SUPSI) and Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences (FFHS), Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Diego Moretti

  4. International Health, Sight and Life Foundation and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Basel, Switzerland

    Klaus Kraemer

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Moretti, D., Stoffel, N.U. (2022). Novel Approaches to Oral Iron Supplementation. In: Karakochuk, C.D., Zimmermann, M.B., Moretti, D., Kraemer, K. (eds) Nutritional Anemia. Nutrition and Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14521-6_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14521-6_22

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-14521-6

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