What do systematic reviews say?

Intermittent vs any daily iron supplementation

Intermittent showed no clear difference in haemoglobin (g/L) compared with daily use of iron supplements (low certainty).

• Intermittent iron supplementation for improving nutrition and development in children under 12 years of age 2011 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  19 studies · 2851 participants
  Low

Intermittent use of iron supplements vs any daily iron supplementation

• Intermittent iron supplementation for reducing anaemia and its associated impairments in adolescent and adult… 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  10 studies · 2127 participants
  Low

Intermittent use of iron supplements vs placebo or no intervention

Intermittent use of iron supplements may leads to higher haemoglobin (g/L) compared with placebo or no intervention (low certainty).

• Intermittent iron supplementation for improving nutrition and development in children under 12 years of age 2011 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  MD 5.2 [2.51, 7.88]
  19 studies · 3032 participants
  Low

Intermittent iron supplementation (alone or with any other micronutrients) vs no supplementation or placebo

• Intermittent iron supplementation for reducing anaemia and its associated impairments in adolescent and adult… 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  15 studies · 2886 participants
  Moderate