Alternate Day vs. Daily Iron Supplementation in Iron Depleted Women

Iron deficiency (ID) with or without anemia is a major public health problem worldwide, especially in women of reproductive age. Iron supplementation can be an effective strategy to prevent and treat ID and iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Recent studies suggests that giving oral iron every other day would be an optimized dosing regimen with maximized absorption and a lower incidence of gastrointestinal side effects compared to consecutive day dosing. Long-term trials in which participants and investigators are blinded to the dosing interval with iron status and gastrointestinal side effects as study outcomes are needed.