CALCIUM AND PHOSPHORUS SUPPLEMENTATION OF IRON-FORTIFIED INFANT FORMULA - NO EFFECT ON IRON STATUS OF HEALTHY FULL-TERM INFANTS

One objective of this clinical trial was to determine whether calcium and phosphorus supplementation of infant formula affects the iron stat us of healthy full-term infants. One hundred three infants were random ly assigned to receive iron-fortified, cow milk-based infant formula ( 465 mg Ca and 317 mg P/L) or the same formula with added calcium glyce rophosphate (1800 mg Ca and 1390 mg P/L) for 9 mo. Reported calcium in take for supplemented infants was about four times that of control inf ants, ranging from a mean of 1741 mg/d at baseline to 1563 mg/d at 9 m o. There was no difference by treatment group in mean or median change from baseline of serum ferritin, total-iron-binding capacity, erythro cyte protoporphyrin, or hematocrit at 4 and 9 mo after enrollment. Inc idence of iron deficiency was similar for both groups and no infant de veloped iron deficiency anemia during the trial. This study indicates that the well-documented inhibitory effect of calcium and phosphorus o n iron absorption is not clinically important in infants fed iron-fort ified infant formula.