IRON NUTRITIONAL-STATUS IS IMPROVED IN BRAZILIAN PRETERM INFANTS FED FOOD COOKED IN IRON POTS

To determine the efficacy of cooking food in iron pots to prevent anem ia in premature infants, a longitudinal study on iron nutritional stat us was conducted in preterm, healthy infants from families of low soci oeconomic level between mo 4 and 12 of life. The infants were divided randomly into two groups. The study group consisted of 22 infants whos e food was cooked in iron pots; the control group consisted of 23 infa nts whose food was cooked in aluminum pots. Supplemental iron [2 mg/(k g.d)] was recommended from 15 d to 12 mo of age for both groups, At 12 mo of age, the group fed food cooked in iron pots had significantly b etter hematologic values than the group fed food cooked in aluminum po ts. Differences included hemoglobin (116 +/- 16 vs. 103 +/- 20 g/L, P = 0.02), hematocrit (0.35 +/- 0.04 VS. 0.31 +/- 0.05, P = 0.005), mean corpuscular volume(72.1 +/- 10.4 vs. 62.7 +/- 11.1 fL, P = 0.005), fr ee erythrocyte protoporphyrin (0.78 +/- 0.60 vs. 1.46 +/- 0.94 mol/L, P = 0.006) and serum ferritin (median 5 vs. 0 g/L, P = 0.001). No sign ificant differences between groups were observed in serum iron concent ration, total iron-binding capacity or transferrin saturation. Iron de ficiency anemia (hemoglobin less than or equal to 110 g/L) was observe d in 36.4% (8 of 22) of infants in the group fed food cooked in iron p ots and in 73.9% (17 of 23) of the infants fed food cooked in aluminum pots (P = 0.03). These results indicate that the iron added to food c ooked in iron pots is bioavailable. However, this increased iron avail ability was insufficient to satisfy the high iron requirements of this group of preterm infants.