Why are 40 year old women the most likely to be iron deficient?
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Women around 40 are more likely to be iron deficient than at any other age.
Why?
This is a time when women are more at risk to have heavier periods because of fibroids or perimenopause. A normal period loses 1 mg per day. A heavy period can lose 10x that amount.
Oddly, this group isn’t screened for iron deficiency as much as they should be. ref
14% of women aged 35-44 have iron deficiency anemia. We can expect 2-3x that number to be iron deficient.
If you’re around 40. Get your ferritin tested.
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Why does iron deficiency cause heavy periods?
Heavy menstrual bleeding HMB is a cause for iron deficiency. Iron deficiency is also a cause of heavy menstrual bleeding.
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If you’re getting surgery and you have less than a month to go, it’s prudent to consider getting an iron infusion to keep your iron levels in the normal range (ferritin >100).
Iron deficiency in children
Let’s get straight to the meat. How do we test for iron deficiency in kids and what is the range we’re looking for?
Why are my iron levels low?
There is a lot of variation between people with how much iron we store in our bodies. Men and Women are different. Asians are different from Europeans. On average women have 3g and Men 4g.
What drugs can cause iron deficiency?
There are a number of drug and drug classes that block iron absorption and can directly make us lose iron through blood loss or vitamin deficiencies.
Being overweight and iron deficiency
We hardly ever hear about the risks of iron deficiency associated with weight gain. Count those days done.
Does donating blood cause iron deficiency?
Iron deficiency is a common problem in blood donors. Female donors and repeat donors are most affected by iron deficiency. 92% of blood comes from repeat donors.