Effectivity of Iron Supplementation With and Without Vitamin C for Increasing Hemoglobin Levels Among Women Aged 16-21 Years Old

Abstract

Anemia can be caused by a decrease in hemoglobin (Hb) levels, chronic disease, severe bleeding, nutritional deficiency, and infectious diseases. Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia (50%). Vitamin C has an important role in increasing absorption of iron in the body which can indirectly affect the increase in Hb formation. This study was conducted to determine whether iron and vitamin C supplementation affect the changes of Hb levels in women. This study was done by quasi experimental with single blind pretest posttest control group and with a stratified random sampling technique. Respondents were female students in Faculty of Medicine UNIKA Atma Jaya. The total number of sample was 58 which was categorized into two groups. The first group was given iron and vitamin C supplementation. The second was only given iron supplementation. There were 16 respondents (27,6%) aged 16-18 and 42 respondents (72,4%) aged 19-21. The average change in Hb level before and after intervention in group 1 was 1,934 g/dL, and P = 0,000 (P <0,05), the average change in Hb level before and after intervention in group 2 was 1,086 g/dL, and P = 0,000 (P <0,05). The difference of change in Hb levels in groups 1 and 2 had an average of 0,848 g/dL, and P = 0,005 (P <0,05). For conclusion, Iron and vitamin C supplementation has a greater impact on the changes of Hb levels compared to iron supplementation only.

Utilization of various honey, fruits, and vegetables to increase hemoglobin levels in pregnant women with anemia in Indonesia

“…Vitamin C helps in the absorption of iron by converting Fe3+ to Fe2+ so that it is more easily absorbed by the body [25]. Other studies also state that iron and vitamin C supplementation has a greater impact on the changes of the hemoglobin level compared to iron supplementation only [26].…”

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“…The most important things that may be the cause of the insignificant results of this study are as follows: the intervention period may not be sufficient because it is only 1 month and the dosage and frequency of capsule administration are insufficient. Another study reported that there was no significant effect on changes in hemoglobin levels between the two study groups before and after treatment based on changes (delta) in hemoglobin levels, in studies of iron-vitamin C and vitamin C supplementation on hemoglobin levels (Lauryn et al, 2022).…”