Impact of Iron Supplementation on the State of Oxidative Stress in Pregnant Women Suffering from Iron-deficient Anemia

Background: The majority of pregnant women suffer from iron deficiency anemia (IDA). In addition to affecting hematological parameters, IDA disrupts the body’s oxidative balance, which impairs pregnancy outcome. OBJECTIVE: The objective is to determine the impact of orally supplementation of ferrous sulfate on pregnant women with IDA on their antioxidant levels and oxidative stress (OS) status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case–control study population comprised 60 pregnant women, divided into two categories: 30 pretreated pregnant women with IDA and 30 posttreatment pregnant women after 6–8 weeks with ferrous sulfate 200 mg daily. We also included 30 nonanemic, nonpregnant women as a healthy control group. We measured the antioxidant parameters: total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and the malondialdehyde (MDA) oxidant parameter for all groups. Results: The results revealed significant decreases in each of hemoglobin (HB), iron, ferritin, TAC, GPx, and SOD, as well as a significant increase in MDA levels (P < 0.000) in the pretreated IDA patients compared to the control group. The oxidant-antioxidant indices TAC, SOD, GPx, and MDA got a lot better after being treated with 200 mg/day of ferrous sulfate for 6–8 weeks. All of the study’s biomarkers showed a positive correlation with the level of HB. Conclusion: Oxidative stress has been associated with iron-deficient anemia. Supplementation with ferrous sulfate 200 mg is necessary for reducing the resulting OS.