Effect of vitamin A supplementation on iron status in humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Anemia is a worldwide public health problem that can be related to many causes, including vitamin A deficiency. The aim of this study was to assess and estimate the effect of vitamin A supplementation (VAS) on iron status biomarkers and anemia in humans. Six databases, including Cochrane, EMBASE, LILACS, Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science, were searched for clinical trials and cohort studies that investigated the effect of vitamin A supplementation alone on iron status and anemia, without time-restriction. The search yielded 23 eligible studies, 21 clinical trials and 2 cohort studies, with children, teenagers, pregnant or lactating women. The meta-analysis of the clinical trials showed that VAS reduces the risk of anemia by 26% and raises hemoglobin levels, compared to non-treated group, independent of the life stage. VAS did not alter the prevalence of iron deficiency among the clinical trials conducted with children and teenagers (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.60 to 1.12, p = 0.204), whereas a significant increase in serum ferritin levels was observed in trials conducted with pregnant and lactating women (WMD 6.61 μg/L; 95% CI 6.00 to 7.21 μg/L; p < 0.001). Therefore, vitamin A supplementation alone may reduce the risk of anemia, by improving hemoglobin and ferritin levels in individuals with low serum retinol levels.
['da Cunha|Marcela de Sá Barreto|MSB|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1388-033X', 'Campos Hankins|Natália Aboudib|NA|', 'Arruda|Sandra Fernandes|SF|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency D015415:Biomarkers D002648:Child D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic D016208:Databases, Factual D019587:Dietary Supplements D005260:Female D006454:Hemoglobins D006801:Humans D007501:Iron D000090463:Iron Deficiencies D007774:Lactation D011247:Pregnancy D014801:Vitamin A D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency
vitamin A supplementation supplementation iron status Review anemia iron deficiency