ArticleThe Journal of nutrition2021
A School-Based Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Program Effectively Reduces Anemia in a Prospective Cohort of Ghanaian Adolescent Girls.
Article in The Journal of nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of Anemia Among Adolescent Girls in Sub-Saharan Africa: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Public health reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Trial
- Challenges, motivators and coping strategies of iron-folic acid tablets intake in the girls iron-folic acid tablet supplementation program in Wa municipality of Ghana.BMC nutrition · 2026Article
- High Anemia Awareness Does Not Mitigate Insomnia Risk in Ghanaian University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.BioMed research international · 2026Article
- Anaemia prevalence and risk factors among nonpregnant and pregnant women of reproductive age in Ghana: an analysis of the Ghana demographic and health survey data.Tropical medicine and health · 2025Article
- The School Food Environment in Ghana is Associated With Dietary Diversity and Anemia: Findings From the 2022 National Nutrition and Health Survey of In-School Adolescents.Food and nutrition bulletin · 2025Article
- Article
- Anemia: Etiology, Pathophysiology, Impact, and Prevention: A Review.Iranian journal of public health · 2025Review
- Perceived Barriers and Enablers for Taking Iron-Folic Acid Supplementation Regularly Among Adolescent Girls in Indonesia: A Pilot Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- An approach to Hemequity: Identifying the barriers and facilitators of iron deficiency reduction strategies in low- to middle-income countries.British journal of haematology · 2025Article
- Article
- Health Education and Promotion Interventions to Mitigate Geophagic Practise: A Scoping Review.Public health reviews · 2025Review
- Facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the Girls' Iron Folate Tablet Supplementation program among adolescent girls in the Bono Region: a cross-sectional survey.The Pan African medical journal · 2025Article
- Geophagy: uses and perceptions of women of childbearing age in Tshwane District, Gauteng Province-a qualitative study.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- Health-Related Experiences of Geophagia Among Women of Reproductive Age in Tshwane District, Gauteng Province: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Barriers, Facilitators of Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation, and Deworming Program among School-Going Adolescents of Deoghar, Jharkhand, India: A Mixed-Methods Study.Korean journal of family medicine · 2024Article
- Low Dietary Diversity and Low Haemoglobin Status in Ghanaian Female Boarding and Day Senior High School Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Article
- Adherence to weekly iron folic acid supplementation and associated factors among adolescent girls - A mixed-method study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSchool-based iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation is recommended for adolescent girls in countries with high burdens of anemia.
objectivesWe aimed to evaluate the context-specific effectiveness of a school-based, integrated anemia control program with IFA supplementation in Ghana.
methodsUsing data from a pre-post, longitudinal program evaluation, we evaluated the effectiveness of school-based weekly IFA supplementation in reducing the burden of anemia and increasing hemoglobin concentrations (Hb; primary outcomes) in 2 regions of Ghana. Generalized linear mixed effects models with schools (clusters) as random effects were used to quantify the change in the anemia prevalence and the mean Hb associated with cumulative IFA tablet consumption over 1 school year (30-36 weeks), controlling for participant-level potential confounders. A cut point for minimum effective cumulative IFA consumption that is reflective of adequate Hb was derived following logistic regression. This cut point was verified by a restricted cubic spline model of IFA consumption and Hb.
resultsThe analytical sample included 60 schools and 1387 girls ages 10-19 years. The prevalence of anemia declined during 1 school year of the intervention, from 25.1% to 19.6% (P = 0.001). Students consumed a mean of 16.4 IFA tablets (range, 0-36). IFA consumption was positively associated with Hb and negatively associated with anemia. Each additional IFA tablet consumed over the school year was associated with a 5% (95% CI, 1-10%) reduction in the adjusted odds of anemia at follow-up, though the relationship is nonlinear. The cut point for minimum effective consumption was 26.7 tablets over a 30-36-week school year, with tablets provided weekly.
conclusionsSchool-based weekly IFA supplementation is effective in improving Hb and reducing the anemia prevalence among schoolgirls in Ghana, though most participants consumed fewer than the minimum effective number of IFA tablets. Increasing intake adherence may further improve anemia outcomes in this population.
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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.