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Iron deficiency is one of the most prevalent causes of anemia. This article aims to answer some important questions about the blood disorder: Iron Deficiency Anemia.
What is Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) and How Frequently Does it Occur?A person with the condition IDA does not have the adequate amount of iron to meet the body’s needs. Iron deficiency anemia is the most widespread type of anemia. Approximately 20% of women, 50% of pregnant women, and 3% of men are iron deficient. What are the Most Common Causes of IDA?In IDA there is a reduction in the amount of red cells in the blood which is caused by having too little iron. The most common causes are insufficient iron in the diet and poor absorption of iron by the body or blood loss - either from a long term intense menstruation or hemorrhage from trauma. Why are Women More Prone to IDA than Men?On average, women have a lower supply of iron than men and lose iron more often than men due to blood loss during menstruation. What Tests are Diagnostic for IDA?Red blood cell measures of hemocrit and hemoglobin; size of red blood cells, serum iron level, and iron binding capacity in the blood are diagnostic tests for IDA. IDA patients will show low MCV and MCHC results. What are the Red Blood Cell Indices?There are three red blood cell indices: mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC).The MCV demonstrates the size of the red blood cells. The MCH value represents hemoglobin quantity in an average red blood cell. The MCHC determines the concentration of hemoglobin in an average red blood cell. How is IDA Treated and Prevented?IDA can be treated and prevented by incorporating a diet that is high in iron such as in red meat, liver, raisins, spinach, broccoli, and egg yolks. Iron supplements will also be recommended by the doctor. How is Iron Stored and Transported in the Body?Inside the body iron is present in two oxidation states: ferrous (Fe2+) or ferric (Fe3+). Iron from our diet is either free iron or heme iron. Free iron is reduced from the ferric (Fe3+) to the ferrous (Fe2+) in the intestines, on the luminal surface of intestinal enterocytes and then moves into the cells. On the contrary, when heme iron is consumed the iron is freed within the enterocytes. The iron can be stored within intestinal enterocytes bound to ferritin and transported transversely along the basolateralmembrane of intestinal enterocytes. The liver is the chief storage site for iron and the key site of iron consumption is the bone marrow for heme synthesis. Would you like to read more articles about Iron?Resources Include:Perutz, M. F., Hemoglobin Structure and Respiratory Transport, Scientific American, volume239, number 6, December, 1978. King, M.W. (2006). Iron metabolism. MamasHealth.com. WebMD. (2007).
The copyright of the article Iron Deficiency Anemia in Diseases/Viruses is owned by Melanie Lamprecht. Permission to republish Iron Deficiency Anemia in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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