2023-07-05 08:22:15
Four in 10 adolescent girls and young women ages 12 to 21 may have iron levels low enough to cause symptoms such as low energy and dizziness, according to a new study from the University of Michigan.
Furthermore, this research warns that most of these women are unaware of this lack of iron because regular health exams for their age group do not include a blood test that measures the body’s iron stores, called a ferritin test. .
One in 17 women ages 12 to 21 have iron levels low enough to qualify them for a diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia, which can cause life-limiting symptoms if not properly treated.
The study, published in ‘JAMA’, used data from 3,490 women between the ages of 12 and 21 who participated in a health survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States (CDC, for its acronym in English). ).
While the overall rate of iron deficiency in the study group was 40 percent, the rate was about 30 percent higher among young black and Latina women compared to their non-Hispanic white peers. Women of other racial and ethnic backgrounds also had slightly higher rates of iron deficiency.
Meanwhile, those women with household incomes near or below the poverty level had iron deficiency rates 24 percent higher than those with higher incomes.
Although the study confirms the general link of menstruation with lower iron levels, it also shows that 27 percent of girls who had not yet had their first period already had low iron levels. Meanwhile, the rate of iron deficiency in the rest of the study group did not change with the number of years the young women had been menstruating.
For the new study, the scientists used blood test data for ferritin and hemoglobin, and other information, from a US survey. They analyzed data from 3,490 women ages 12 to 21 who participated between 2003 and 2020, except for several years in which ferritin levels were not collected.
The analysis excluded young women who were pregnant or had signs of conditions that can interfere with iron levels, including diseases involving chronic inflammation, the kidneys or the liver.
The study focused on ferritin, which is the protein-coated form of iron that is stored in the liver and passed into the blood when the body needs more iron to help deliver oxygen to tissues and organs, or to make hormones and develop cells.
The team set a level of less than 25 micrograms per liter of blood (g/L) as the definition of iron deficiency. But because experts don’t have a clear international standard for what level of ferritin is too low, they also looked at levels below 15 ug/L and 50 ug/L.
On the other hand, they analyzed hemoglobin and classified young women with anemia if they had less than 12 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of hemoglobin and 25 ug/L of ferritin.
Overall, 39 percent of the young women had ferritin levels below 25 ug/L and 17 percent were below 15 ug/L. As for iron deficiency anemia, 6 percent qualified for this diagnosis using a combined cutoff of 12 mg/dL hemoglobin and 25 ug/L ferritin.
They then looked at how ferritin and hemoglobin/ferritin levels varied among the young women based on their different characteristics. In addition to race, ethnicity and poverty, the researchers found other links.
The average body mass index for the entire group was 22, but those women with a lower BMI were more likely to be iron deficient.
TESTING GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN FOR IRON
The study’s lead author, Angela Weyand, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School and a pediatric hematologist at CS Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan Health, says the findings suggest that “it’s about time we consider routine iron screening in adolescent girls and young women, even if they do not have symptoms such as fatigue, cognitive or mental health problems, shortness of breath with exercise, pale or sallow skin, rapid heartbeat, or headache ”.
“Iron deficiency is an under-recognized problem with adverse impacts, but its symptoms and even those of anemia normalize in young women,” Weyand says.
Following these findings, the researchers hope that doctors will order ferritin tests in young patients and advise them about eating foods rich in iron, both the form found in animal foods and the form found in fruit. vegetables, nuts and seeds.
If ferritin levels are low even with a full diet, doctors may recommend a multivitamin with iron or oral iron supplements, which are inexpensive and come in formulations designed not to cause digestive problems. For those women with more severe iron deficiencies, intravenous iron is also available. L.D. B/ M.T. T. (SyM)
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