Impact Of Iron Deficiency Anemia Research Articles

Negative Iron Balance: Risk Among Female Vegetarian College Students

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutrient deficiency, impacting up to 6% of Americans. Given that 5 to 14% of women in the United States between ages 15 and 44 have impaired iron status, depletion may be most prevalent in younger women. Of particular concern is the health impact of iron deficiency anemia among vegetarian women of child bearing age. The objective of this study was to determine if iron deficiency anemia is widespread among college age vegetarian women. A cross sectional analysis of 39 female students at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA was conducted. Anthropometric data including height, weight and BMI was collected. Three day dietary records were maintained by participants to determine dietary iron intake. A fasting blood sample was obtained and analyzed for white blood cells, red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum iron, serum ferritin, transferrin saturation and total iron binding capacity. Vegetarians tended to eat less iron daily than non vegetarians. Of interest was the tendency for lower serum ferritin status and a greater expression of stage 1V negative iron balance compared to non vegetarians as evidenced by low serum iron, high total iron binding capacity, low transferrin saturation and low serum ferritin. Thus, vegetarian college age women appear to be at higher risk than non vegetarians for developing negative iron balance. Funded by California Polytechnic State University Faculty Support Grant.

4 Effect of iron-deficiency anaemia on cognitive skills in infancy and childhood

Animal experimentation has shown that early iron deficiency irreversibly affects brain iron content and distribution, resulting in neutransmitter and behavioural alterations. Even though extrapolation of animal data is often misleading, iron-deficiency anaemia has been consistently shown to be associated with psychomotor delays in infancy. The areas most involved are language and body balance. In these infants iron therapy, in most cases was not sufficient to reverse psychological effects even after complete correction of haematological measures. These findings may imply that the impact of iron-deficiency anaemia during infancy may be associated with irreversible adverse effects on cognitive performance. Careful follow-up studies of these infants at 5-6 years of age has shown that cognitive disadvantages persist, now assessed with a comprehensive set of psychological tests that reliably predict future competence. Thus, if once anaemia ensues, even timely and adequate iron therapy seems to be ineffective in reversing these behavioural and cognitive disadvantages; the only practical way to approach this problem is by prevention of iron deficiency in infancy. Health authorities, having been shown that treatment of iron deficiency anaemia is already too late to reverse potential deficits, should strive to prevent iron deficiency with adequate food fortification strategies or by supplementing targeted population groups.