Iron May Reduce Fatigue in Non-Anemic Women

Iron May Reduce Fatigue in Non-Anemic Women

LAUSANNE, Switzerland--Non-anemic women suffering from fatiguemay benefit from taking iron supplements, according to research out of theUniversity of Lausanne that was printed in the May 24 issue of the BritishMedical Journal (326, 7399:1124-6, 2003) (http://bmj.com).Researchers randomly assigned 144 women to take either 80 mg/d of oral ferroussulphate or placebo for four weeks in a double blind fashion. A total of 136women completed the study, with dropout and compliance rates being similar amongboth groups. After the treatment period, researchers noted a 29-percent decreasein the level of fatigue among women in the treatment group compared to a13-percent decrease in the placebo group. A subgroup analysis showed thetreatment only seemed to benefit the women with low or borderline serum ferritinconcentrations.