The present study investigates the effect of
iron supplementation on measures of school performance among 78
iron-deficient anemic and 41 nonanemic children in an economically deprived rural area in Central Java, Indonesia. All the subjects were treated for
ancylostomiasis before
iron supplementation. They were randomly assigned to either an
iron or placebo group. Hematological and behavioral measurements were obtained immediately before (T1) and after (T2) the
iron and placebo treatments.
Iron treatment for a 3-mo period resulted in substantive increases in mean Hgb, Hct, and
transferrin saturation among the
iron-deficient anemic children. Furthermore, changes in the
iron status of
iron-deficient anemic children were associated with significant changes in the school achievement test scores of
iron-deficient anemic children. T2 evaluation of achievement test scores indicated that the difference between
iron-treated anemic and nonanemic children was still statistically significant. However, when T1 scores were entered as a covariate,
iron-deficient anemic subjects treated with
iron obtained significantly higher delta achievement scores. Findings from the present study indicate that
iron supplementation among
iron-deficient anemic children benefits learning processes as measured by the school achievement test scores.