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In addition to oral iron supplements, food-based approaches and dietary supplements have gained interest in preventing and treating iron deficiency in the active female population.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effect of diet and dietary supplement interventions on iron status, performance, and inflammatory markers in active females of reproductive age.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Data Source<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Embase, and Rehabilitation &amp; Sports Medicine Source up to March 2026.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Data Extraction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Interventional trials that examined the impact of diet or dietary supplements on at least one biomarker of iron status in active females of reproductive age were included.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Data Analysis<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>All meta-analyses were conducted in R version 2025.05.0\u2009+\u2009496 using the metafor package. Separate random-effects meta-analyses were performed for hemoglobin and ferritin outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Oral iron supplementation in the form of ferrous sulfate resulted in a significant increase in hemoglobin (mean difference [MD]\u2009=\u20090.42\u00a0g\/dL; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.10 to 0.74;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.0109;\n                      <jats:italic>I<\/jats:italic>\n                      <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                      \u2009=\u200956.6%) and ferritin (MD\u2009=\u200912.61\u00a0ng\/mL; 95% CI: 8.29 to 16.92;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.0001;\n                      <jats:italic>I<\/jats:italic>\n                      <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                      \u2009=\u200957.38%).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Meta-analysis revealed that ferrous sulfate supplementation significantly improved hemoglobin and ferritin levels in active females.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Systematic Review Registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>PROSPERO registration no. CRD42024554679.<\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:p>:<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s40279-026-02464-x","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]],"date-time":"2026-06-10T16:22:34Z","timestamp":1781108554000},"page":"2527-2549","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Effect of Diet and Dietary Supplements on Iron Status of Active Females: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Interventional Trials"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"56","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-7129-9911","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emma","family":"McCarthy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Josh P.","family":"Pekler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tina","family":"Tran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lauren E.","family":"Deluca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Trina","family":"Fresco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jarrad","family":"Hampton-Marcell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beatriz Penalver","family":"Bernabe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Karrie","family":"Hamstra-Wright","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mary Dawn","family":"Koenig","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Danielle","family":"Colegrove","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lisa","family":"Tussing-Humphreys","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]]},"reference":[{"issue":"2S-2","key":"2464_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"568S","DOI":"10.1093\/jn\/131.2.568S","volume":"131","author":"JL Beard","year":"2001","unstructured":"Beard JL. 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