Blood cell composition
No changes in blood cell composition, neither between nor within groups, were observed after 3 months. After 6 months there was no change in the levels of leukocytes, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, or thrombocytes. However, there was a marginal decrease in the levels of erythrocytes, hemoglobin, and hematocrit. When the analyses were stratified for sex, the decrease was only observed among women (data now shown).