Effectiveness of nutrition education, iron supplementation or both on iron status in children.

OBJECTIVE: A community-based, randomized trial was designed to compare the effect of nutrition education and/or iron supplementation (weekly) on iron status of children in an urban slum in Delhi. METHODS: Four hundred and fifty one children, 9-36 months of age and their caretakers (mothers), assigned to one of the following groups were included in the cohort. Group 1, nutrition education. Group 2, supplementation (with 20 mg elemental iron). Group 3, nutrition education with supplementation (with 20 mg elemental iron) and Group 4, control given placebo. The intervention program was of four months duration, with a treatment phase of 8 wk followed by 8 wk of no treatment. RESULTS: Post intervention, at 8 wk and at 16 wk, the hemoglobin change in the nutrition education, supplementation, nutrition education with supplementation and control groups was 2.9, 1.9, 3.8 and -5.9%, respectively and 2.1, -1.9, 0 and -9.3%, respectively (as compared to initial values). There was no significant effect of any of the intervention at 8 weeks. At 16 wk, there was significant positive effect of nutrition education group (p less than 0.05). The percent change in serum ferritin value at 16 wk in the nutrition education, supplementation, nutrition education with supplementation and control groups was 5.7, -2.3, -3.4 and -40%, respectively. Serum ferritin values were significantly higher for the nutrition education group (p < 0.001) as compared to the control. At 16 wk, the nutrition education group mothers showed significantly higher nutrition knowledge and the dietary iron intake of children was significantly higher than their control group counterparts (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The study suggests that nutrition education did have a positive effect on the iron status possibly by improving the dietary iron intake.

Thermosensitive and pH mechanisms regulating urine formation.

The study was undertaken to investigate the effect of infusion of isotonic saline of different pH (2, 3, 9 and 10) and different temperatures (cold 4 degrees and warm 40 degrees C) in urinary bladder on rate of renal urine formation. The volume of fluid (isotonic saline) infused was 100 ml in all the cases. Presence of alkaline saline (pH-9 and pH-10) and warm saline in urinary bladder, decreased the rate of urine flow whereas acidic and cold saline increased the rate of urine flow significantly. (P < 0.05 and < 0.0001 respectively). The observed effects disappeared when 4% xylocaine in 100 ml saline was infused and evacuated prior to infusion of fluids of different pH and temperature. The observation suggests existence of chemosensitive and thermosensitive mechanisms in the vesical mucosa regulating urine formation by the kidney.