Trial reportPloS one2014
Four weeks of IV iron supplementation reduces perceived fatigue and mood disturbance in distance runners.
Trial report in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of intravenous iron therapy for adults with non-anaemic iron deficiency: An abridged Cochrane review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2022Pooled it
- Risk of Infection Associated With Administration of Intravenous Iron: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2021Pooled it
- Intravenous iron therapy for non-anaemic, iron-deficient adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- The Role of Mineral and Trace Element Supplementation in Exercise and Athletic Performance: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2019Pooled it
- Frequency of intravenous therapy use in elite adult track and field athletes.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Efficacy of iron supplementation on physical capacity in non-anaemic iron-deficient individuals: protocol for an individual patient data meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2024Article
- Calculating Load and Intensity Using Muscle Oxygen Saturation Data.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Intravenous iron therapy in pediatrics: who should get it and when is the right time?Hematology. American Society of Hematology. Education Program · 2023Article
- Prevalence of iron-deficient but non-anemic university athletes in Japan: an observational cohort study.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2023Observational
- Iron Status and Physical Performance in Athletes.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The Perceived Impact of Iron Deficiency and Iron Therapy Preference in Exercising Females of Reproductive Age: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2023Article
- Article
- The need to screen for anemia in exercising women.Medicine · 2021Article
- Impact of Nutrition-Based Interventions on Athletic Performance during Menstrual Cycle Phases: A Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- Refining Treatment Strategies for Iron Deficient Athletes.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Review
- Iron considerations for the athlete: a narrative review.European journal of applied physiology · 2019Review
- Common causes of dyspnoea in athletes: a practical approach for diagnosis and management.Breathe (Sheffield, England) · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo determine the effect of intravenous iron supplementation on performance, fatigue and overall mood in runners without clinical iron deficiency.
methodsFourteen distance runners with serum ferritin 30-100 µg · L(-1) were randomly assigned to receive three blinded injections of intravenous ferric-carboxymaltose (2 ml, 100 mg, IRON) or normal saline (PLACEBO) over four weeks (weeks 0, 2, 4). Athletes performed a 3,000 m time trial and 10 × 400 m monitored training session on consecutive days at week 0 and again following each injection. Hemoglobin mass (Hbmass) was assessed via carbon monoxide rebreathing at weeks 0 and 6. Fatigue and mood were determined bi-weekly until week 6 via Total Fatigue Score (TFS) and Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) using the Brief Fatigue Inventory and Brunel Mood Scale. Data were analyzed using magnitude-based inferences, based on the unequal variances t-statistic and Cohen's Effect sizes (ES).
resultsSerum ferritin increased in IRON only (Week 0: 62.8 ± 21.9, Week 4: 128.1 ± 46.6 µg · L(-1); p = 0.002) and remained elevated two weeks after the final injection (127.0 ± 66.3 µg · L(-1), p = 0.01), without significant changes in Hbmass. Supplementation had a moderate effect on TMD of IRON (ES -0.77) with scores at week 6 lower than PLACEBO (ES -1.58, p = 0.02). Similarly, at week 6, TFS was significantly improved in IRON vs. PLACEBO (ES -1.54, p = 0.05). There were no significant improvements in 3,000 m time in either group (Week 0 vs. Week 4; Iron: 625.6 ± 55.5 s vs. 625.4 ± 52.7 s; PLACEBO: 624.8 ± 47.2 s vs. 639.1 ± 59.7 s); but IRON reduced their average time for the 10 × 400 m training session at week 2 (Week 0: 78.0 ± 6.6 s, Week 2: 77.2 ± 6.3; ES-0.20, p = 0.004).
conclusionDuring 6 weeks of training, intravenous iron supplementation improved perceived fatigue and mood of trained athletes with no clinical iron deficiency, without concurrent improvements in oxygen transport capacity or performance.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.