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Ferrous sulfate is prescribed for patients with iron deficiency in doses of 60 mg of elemental iron given orally two or three times daily. The absorption of iron is decreased by hepcidin, a peptide that blocks the transport of iron from intestinal epithelial cells to the blood.
To examine the factors that affect hepcidin levels and iron absorption, investigators studied 54 nonanemic young women who received ferrous sulfate in successive daily and twice-daily dosing schedules. They report the following:
24 hours after a dose of ferrous sulfate, hepcidin levels were increased by a factor of 2.7; increasing the dose of iron was associated with a decrease in fractional iron absorption.
Fractional iron absorption decreased by 36% when 60 mg of iron…