Iron is an important nutrient to our health. A lack of iron can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, cold chills, headaches, reduced immune function and irritability. Iron plays many important roles in our body including carrying oxygen, producing hormones, boosting immune function, and even helping with cell division.
What is iron deficiency?
Iron deficiency refers to a lack of sufficient amounts on iron in body. To determine your iron levels, your health care practitioner will likely look at the amount of ferritin in your blood. Ferritin gives us an idea of how much iron you have stored in your body. If ferritin is low you this indicates iron deficiency is present.
Iron deficiency vs. anemia
There is a difference between having low levels of iron in your body, and having iron deficiency anemia. You can be diagnosed with iron deficiency without being “anemic” if your hemoglobin levels are within the normal range. However, if both ferritin and hemoglobin are low, this indicates iron deficiency anemia is present. This is a condition where your iron stores are so low that a process called erythropoiesis (production of red blood cells) is affected.
How common is iron deficiency?
It has been estimated that iron deficiency affects about 25% of the worlds population. It is typically diagnosed more frequently in women than men. Iron deficiency is more common in people with increased requirements, increased losses, decreased intake, or decreased absorption.
Children, women who are menstruating, and pregnant and lactating women typically have increased requirements. Individuals that eat diets with fewer of no sources of animal protein have decreased intakes. Individuals that frequently use medications like aspirin and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such ibuprofen and/or naproxen, typically have increased losses.
Though more rare, there are other conditions that can lead to iron deficiency. This includes disorders within your gastrointestinal tract such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s dosease, and cancer. Certain surgeries or genetic conditions can also lead iron deficiency or issues with iron absorption.
Testing for iron deficiency
To test for iron deficiency, your health care provider will likely order a blood test. This test will typically involve a complete blood count, and assessing hemoglobin and ferritin levels.
New vs. old diagnostic guidelines
For many years, adults were not considered iron deficient until their ferritin was below 10ug/L. Recently, new guidelines have increased this cutoff. Research has shown that adults with a ferritin of <30ug/L are iron deficient. Adults with a ferritin between 30-50ug/L are probably iron deficient, and adults with a ferritin between 51-100ug/L could possibly be iron deficient.
As you can see, these new cutoffs are very different than the cutoff value used historically. This is great news for many individuals as symptoms of iron deficiency can be present long before your ferritin gets as low as 10ug/L. Hopefully with these new guidelines, more people are being appropriately treated for iron deficiency and well on their way to feeling their best!
For me personally, these new diagnostic guidelines are impactful. I am someone with a ferritin that was traditionally on the low end of the normal range but wasn’t quite low enough to be diagnosed until now. I have had many symptoms of iron deficiency that can now hopefully be resolved with supplementation. I hope the same is true for anyone else that may be suffering and now falls into this range.
Treatment Options
Treatment for iron deficiency depends on the cause, but most typically involves either supplementation or iron infusions depending on severity. Your healthcare provider can help you understand your treatment options and pick the best option for you. If you have been told you are iron deficient and you aren’t sure what to do next, I encourage you to reach out your provider for tailored guidance.
A doctor or pharmacist can help you determine what supplement is best and exactly how much to take. Of course, eating an iron rich diet can always be helpful, but depending on the severity or cause of the deficiency it may not be enough alone.
Wrapping up
I hope that you found this blog post helpful!
Tune in next week for a high iron recipe.
