Efficacy of individualised homoeopathic medicines as an adjunct to conventional iron and folic-acid supplementation in iron deficiency anaemia among reproductive-aged women: Single-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is a major public health concern affecting women of reproductive age globally. If left untreated, it can cause various health issues including fatigue, shortness of breath, abnormal heart rhythms, chest pain, and complications during pregnancy. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of individualised homoeopathic medicines (IHMs) with iron and folic acid supplement (IFS) in treatment of iron deficiency among reproductive-aged women, in comparison with placebos with IFS. Methods: Single-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted over total six months at the outpatient-department, of which participants received interventions and outcome assessments for three months. Reproductive women (15–49 years) with IDA were included based on haemoglobin (Hb) level ≤ 11.9 mg/dl to ≥ 7.1 mg/dl with serum ferritin <15 >μ g/l; randomised to receive either IHMs with IFS (IHMs-IFS, n = 30) or identical-looking placebos with IFS (placebo-IFS, n = 30) for 3 months. The outcomes included haemoglobin, Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH), serum ferritin (SF) levels measured at baseline and after three-months of intervention. Results: Of 110 screened participants, 60 were included after their consent and intervened; entered into intention-to-treat analysis. Inter-group differences shown Hb, MCV, SF values were statistically significant with medium effect size. Intra-group differences showed in Hb (IHMs-IFS: p < 0.001; placebos-IFS: p < 0.01), MCV (IHMs-IFS: p < 0.001; placebos-IFS: p < 0.01), MCH (IHMs-IFS: p < 0.001, placebos-IFS: p < 0.01), SF (IHMs-IFS: p < 0.001; placebos-IFS: p < 0.001) significant increases in both groups. Conclusion: Significant improvement was observed, within and between the groups. However, the magnitude of improvement was slightly greater in IHMs-IFS group compared with placebo-IFS group, indicated by larger mean changes and medium effect sizes, favouring the adjunct benefits of IHMs in management of IDA among reproductive-age women. Multi-centric, double-blinded, large-sampled studies are warranted to confirm these findings.