Search

Despite growing wealth and a strengthening government commitment to improve livelihoods and welfare, many students across rural China have inadequate access to micronutrient-rich diets. Poor diets can lead to nutritional problems, such as iron-deficiency anemia, that can adversely affect health, attention, learning, and mental health. The overall goal of this paper is to assess the impact of multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) on anemia and anxiety among students in poor areas of rural China. To achieve this goal, we conducted a randomized controlled trial in 54 randomly chosen elementary schools in 8 of the poorest counties in Shaanxi Province in Northwest China. Study participants were 2730 fourth-grade students, mostly aged 10-12 y. Schools were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: a control group that received no intervention and an intervention group that received a daily MMS with 5 mg of iron (ferrous sulfate) for 5 mo. Our primary outcome measures were hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations (assessed by HemoCue 201+ technology), anemia prevalence (defined as Hb) concentrations ≤120 g/L), and anxiety (using a written mental health test). The results showed that 42.4% of students were anemic at baseline. The Hb concentration was 121.7 ± 10.7 g/L in the treatment group and 123.4 ± 11.4 g/L in the control group. MMS increased Hb concentrations by 1.7 g/L ± 0.15 and reduced anemia rates by 7.0 percentage points (P < 0.05). Anxiety was reduced by 0.30 SDs (P < 0.01). MMS reduced both anemia and anxiety. Our results should encourage further research on the linkages between nutrition and mental health in a development context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron is one of the most abundant metals on earth and is essential to most life forms. Its level is tightly regulated, since iron does not have an excretion regulation pathway, and a high toxicity of free iron can lead to tissue damage. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent knowledge, allowing a better comprehension of iron homeostasis in human body. Two main iron regulation systems including iron‐regulatory protein (IRP)–iron‐responsive element (IRE) system, and hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF) system are highlighted. Dietary factors which impact iron absorption in human body are discussed. China has experienced rapid economic growth over the past few decades, however, significant nutritional problems remain, especially iron deficiency. Therefore, another focus of the review article is to trace the cause of iron deficiency in China and propose some possible solutions: improving dietary diversity, food iron fortification, increasing the intake of iron nutritional supplements, and iron biofortification. Practical applications: Our review focuses on iron metabolism, the regulation of iron homeostasis in the human body, and how dietary food intake impacts iron absorption and metabolism, to provide an updated summary of the iron research. Iron deficiency in China and the potential reasons are discussed. One of the reasons might be related to a large amount of plant foods. We summarize recent reports of iron deficiency in China and suggest solutions to alleviate dietary iron deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]