Sprinkles Studies In Kintampo Health Research Centre

1. Comparing Sprinkles to gold standard’; iron drops:

This first study involved only anaemic children and demonstrated that Sprinkles achieved a similar cure rate as compared to the ‘gold standard’; iron drops. Fifty-eight percent of children who received Sprinkles went from an anaemic (Hb<100 g/L) to a non-anaemic state (Hb≥100 g/L) in only 2 months. Given that the study took place during the wet season when malaria transmission is high, the anaemia cure rate of close to 60% was considered very successful. In a similar study conducted in the dry season, it was demonstrated that Sprinkles were efficacious to treat anaemia with an average cure rate of 69%.

Children who were treated for anaemia in this study were included in a maintenance phase study to determine whether continued intake of Sprinkles was needed to sustain their non-anaemic status. Results showed that in most children who had been successfully treated for anaemia, further intervention was not needed. At 12 months post-intervention, 77% of children remained non-anaemic.

2. Absorption of iron and zinc from sprinkles:

To determine the amount of iron and zinc absorbed from Sprinkles, stable isotope studies were also conducted in both anaemic and non-anaemic infants. It was demonstrated that both the iron and zinc in Sprinkles are adequately absorbed and that infants with iron deficiency anaemia absorb iron from Sprinkles about twice as efficiently as iron deficient or non-anaemic infants

3. Establishing a dosage level of iron: for Sprinkles that would be appropriate for program settings, a dose-response study was conducted to compare the haemoglobin response to three types of Sprinkles containing 12.5 mg, 20 mg and 30 mg of iron. This study involved only anaemic children. After 2 months of intervention, the prevalence of anaemia in all groups dropped to less than 45%, with no difference between the groups.

Because there was no dose effect on haemoglobin concentration, it was concluded that a 12.5 mg iron dose would be efficacious for program settings when using Sprinkles.

Contact: Dr. Kwaku Poku Asante