Li et al reported a followup
of a randomized trial on prenatal
supplementation in rural China and
demonstrated a benefit of multiple
micronutrient supplementation (MMN)
on the mental development of children
at 12 months of age, but this positive
impact of MMN was not shown at 18-
and 24-month follow-up assessments
(Li q, Yan H, Zeng L, Cheng Y, Dang S,
Duan S and Tsuji I, unpublished data,
2013). Apparently, the anemia prevalence
ofwomen in these studieswas still
high at the end of pregnancy even after
iron supplementation, which may
have compromised the impact of iron
supplementation on child development.
The current study is a follow-up of the
same randomized trial used in Li et al.