Study: Vitamin C Supplements Have No Effect on Iron-Deficiency Anemia

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD

Adding vitamin C to iron supplementation doesn't seem to further improve hemoglobin levels in patients with iron-deficiency anemia, suggests a Chinese study in JAMA Network Open. Vitamin C has been previously shown to improve iron absorption.

Roughly 440 adults newly diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia (hemoglobin level less than 13 g/dL for men, less than 12 g/dL for women) were randomized to receive 100-mg oral iron supplements with or without 200-mg vitamin C supplements every 8 hours. Most participants were women who had iron-deficiency anemia secondary to menorrhagia due to uterine fibroids or endometriosis.

The authors say their findings "suggest that vitamin C is not essential" for those with iron-deficiency anemia.