Table 3.
The iron status of the participants of the study (n = 29), accompanied by the other hematological parameters, throughout the study period.
| Variables—Baseline Level | t0—at Baseline | t4—after 4 Weeks of Intervention | t8—after 8 Weeks of Intervention | p (t0 vs. t4) | p (t4 vs. t8) | p (t0 vs. t8) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean ± SD | Median (Min–Max) | Mean ± SD | Median (Min–Max) | Mean ± SD | Median (Min–Max) | ||||
| RBC | 4.43 ± 0.34 | 4.50 (3.60–5.00) | 4.50 ± 0.29 | 4.40 * (4.00–5.20) | 4.51 ± 0.32 | 4.40 (4.00–5.20) | 0.0299 | 0.8191 | 0.0580 |
| Hb | 13.1 ± 0.8 | 12.9 * (11.0–14.1) | 13.3 ± 0.7 | 13.1 (12.1–14.4) | 13.3 ± 0.8 | 13.3 (11.7–15.4) | 0.1059 | 0.5532 | 0.0619 |
| Ht | 39.7 ± 2.4 | 40.0 (33.0–43.0) | 40.3 ± 1.9 | 40.0 (37.0–44.0) | 40.5 ± 2.3 | 40.0 (36.0–46.0) | 0.0785 | 0.7262 | 0.0491 |
| Fe | 95.5 ± 45.6 | 95.6 (24.7–208.8) | 85.3 ± 40.1 | 76.7 * (40.2–217.5) | 93.8 ± 50.10 | 92.8 (25.7–215.1) | 0.1919 | 0.3761 | 0.8372 |
| SF | 36.7 ± 25.8 | 33.3 * (7.1–119.0) | 28.3 ± 22.2 | 20.8 * (9.1–121.0) | 32.8 ± 28.6 | 29.5 * (7.55–156.0) | 0.0128 | 0.0189 | 0.3290 |
| MCV | 89.8 ± 3.5 | 90.0 (81.0–95.0) | 89.8 ± 4.0 | 90.0 (81.0–96.0) | 89.8 ± 4.0 | 89.0 (81.0–97.0) | 0.9250 | 1.0000 | 0.9447 |
| MCH | 29.6 ± 1.7 | 30.0 * (26.0–32.0) | 29.5 ± 1.7 | 30.0 * (26.0–32.0) | 29.6 ± 1.7 | 30.0 * (26.0–32.0) | 0.5751 | 0.4446 | 0.8139 |
| MCHC | 32.9 ± 0.9 | 32.9 (30.6–34.5) | 32.8 ± 0.8 | 32.9 (31.5–34.3) | 32.9 ± 0.8 | 32.9 (31.4–34.3) | 0.5910 | 0.4608 | 0.8068 |
| Plt | 250.6 ± 63.7 | 242.0 (42.0–370.0) | 255.9 ± 59.7 | 244.0 (146.0–401.0) | 255.2 ± 48.8 | 257.0 (146.0–344.0) | 0.4919 | 0.9029 | 0.5386 |
| WBC | 6.11 ± 1.50 | 5.50 * (3.50–9.80) | 6.59 ± 2.33 | 5.90 * (4.10–16.10) | 6.11 ± 1.19 | 5.90 * (3.80–9.00) | 0.2106 | 0.4167 | 0.3381 |
* nonparametric distribution (verified using Shapiro–Wilk test; p ≤ 0.05). RBC—red blood cells (mln/µL); Hb—hemoglobin (g/dL); Ht—hematocrit (%); Fe—serum iron (µg/dL); SF—serum ferritin (ng/mL); MCV—mean corpuscular volume (%); MCH—mean corpuscular hemoglobin (pg); MCHC—mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (g/dL); Plt—platelets (109/L); WBC—white blood cells (109/L).