IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA

Iron Deficiency Anemia

Iron Deficiency Anemia

Introduction

Iron deficiency is the most general known form of nutritional deficiency. Its prevalence is highest among young kids and females of childbearing age (particularly pregnant females). In kids, iron deficiency causes developmental delays and behavioral disturbances, and in pregnant females, it increases the hazard for a preterm delivery and delivering a low-birth weight baby.

In the past three decades, increased iron dose among babies has resulted in a decline in childhood iron-deficiency anemia in the United States. As a consequence, the exercise of screening tests for anemia has turned into a less competent means of distinguishing iron deficiency in a number of populations. For females of childbearing age, iron deficiency has continued to be prevalent (Hallberg, 2007).

Iron Metabolism

Total body iron averages about 3.8 g in males and 2.3 g in females, which is equivalent to 50 mg/kg body weight for a 75-kg man and 42 mg/kg body weight for a 55-kg woman, respectively. When the body has sufficient iron to meet its needs, most iron ( more than 70%) might be classified as functional iron; the remainder is storage or transport iron. More than 80% of functional iron in the body is found in the red blood cell mass as Hb, and the rest is found in myoglobin and intracellular respiratory enzymes (e.g., cytochromes). Iron is stored first and foremost as ferritin, but a little is stored as hemosiderin. Iron is transfered in blood through the protein transferrin. The total amount of iron in the body is determined by dose, loss, and storage of this mineral (Kappus, 2006).

Iron Dose

Regulation of iron balance occurs mainly in the gastrointestinal tract through absorption. When the absorptive mechanism is operating normally, a person maintains functional iron and tends to establish iron stores (Stoltzfus, 2007). The capacity of the body to absorb iron from the diet depends on the amount of iron in the body, the rate of red blood cell production, the amount and kind of iron in the diet, and the presence of absorption enhancers and inhibitors in the diet.

The percentage of iron absorbed (i.e., iron bioavailability)-can vary from less than 1% to more than 50%. The main factor controlling iron absorption is the amount of iron stored in the body (Dallman, 2006). The gastrointestinal tract increases iron absorption when the body's iron stores are low and decreases absorption when stores are sufficient. An increased rate of red blood cell production can also stimulate iron uptake several fold.

Among adults, absorption of dietary iron averages about 6% for males and 13% for nonpregnant females in their childbearing years. The higher absorption efficiency of these females reflects primarily their lower iron stores as a result of menstruation and pregnancy (DeMaeyer, 2005). Among iron-deficient individuals, iron absorption is also high. Absorption of iron increases during pregnancy, but the amount of the increase is not well defined; as iron stores increase postpartum, iron absorption decreases. Iron Turnover and Loss

Red blood cell formation and destruction is responsible for most iron turnover in the ...