Table 3.
Iron status indices and C-reactive protein concentration of infants in the intervention group at 6 and 12 months of age (IC) and in the static cross-sectional control group (CG) at 12 months of age
(Mean values and standard deviations; geometric mean and –1 standard deviation and +1 standard deviation)
| Parameter | IC (n 64) | CG (n 80) | P * | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months | 12 months | 12 months | ||||||||
| Geometric mean | –1 sd, +1 sd | Geometric mean | –1 sd, +1 sd | Geometric mean | –1 sd, +1 sd | |||||
| Hb (g/l) | ||||||||||
| Mean | 113·4 | 118·1 | 109·5 | <0·001 | ||||||
| sd | 8·7 | 10·2 | 16·4 | |||||||
| Serum ferritin (ng/ml) | 40·0 | 16·4, 78·7 | 27·0 | 13·4, 54·4 | 20·3 | 7·5, 55·0 | 0·085 | |||
| Serum soluble transferrin receptor (mg/l) | 1·68 | 1·22, 2·31 | 1·70 | 1·19, 2·43 | 2·07 | 1·29, 3·33 | 0·014 | |||
| Serum C-reactive protein (mg/l) | 0·46 | 0·16, 1·34 | 0·84 | 0·20, 3·60 | 0·77 | 0·17, 3·39 | 0·741 | |||
*
P value for between-group comparison (ANCOVA model correcting for sex, exclusively breast-feeding until 6 months of age (yes/no), Kuppuswamy socio-economic status(32), birth weight, gestational age and study site).