Hyderabad: A study conducted among children living in urban slums of Hyderabad has found that early screening for anaemia followed by timely iron-folic acid supplementation can reduce childhood anaemia by nearly 80 per cent, even as adding probiotics to the treatment confers no additional benefit.
The research, carried out by scientists at the city-based ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) and published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, lends scientific weight to India’s Anaemia-Mukt Bharat programme and its “screen and treat” approach.
Researchers screened 825 under-five children from urban slums and pre-primary schools in Hyderabad, of whom 248 children aged 13–57 months with mild to moderate anaemia were enrolled in a 90-day randomised controlled trial.
Children were split into two groups, with one receiving iron-folic acid supplementation along with the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum UBLP40, and the other receiving iron-folic acid with a placebo.
The numbers across both groups were significant. Haemoglobin levels rose by an average of approximately 2 g/dL, anaemia prevalence fell by 77 per cent, iron deficiency dropped by 98 per cent and iron deficiency anaemia was completely eliminated among children who completed the intervention.
Children who received probiotics, however, showed no improvement in haemoglobin, iron status, gut health markers or incidence of common childhood illnesses compared to those on iron-folic acid alone.
Dr Teena Dasi and Dr Ravindranadh Palika, the study’s lead investigators at ICMR-NIN, said the Hyderabad findings demonstrated that screening and timely treatment under Anaemia-Mukt Bharat guidelines could substantially cut anaemia burden in young children when compliance was high. “Although probiotics were found to be safe, they did not provide additional benefits over standard iron-folic acid therapy in this community setting,” they said.
Dr Bharati Kulkarni, Director of ICMR-NIN, said the study provided strong scientific backing for India’s screen-and-treat approach and showed that routine probiotic co-supplementation may not be necessary in similar settings, “thereby avoiding additional programme costs without compromising treatment effectiveness.”
Anaemia remains one of India’s most pressing public health problems, particularly among children under five, where iron deficiency can impair physical growth, cognitive development and immune function.
