Latent Iron Deficiency in Young Syrian Female of Child Bearing Age
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Researchers |
Nada Dehneh – Mohamed Maher Alkoutayni |
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Published in |
Damascus University Journal of Health Sciences, Volume 32, Issue 2, 2016 |
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Abstract |
Background & Objective: Anemia is defined as a hemoglobin (Hb) concentration below 12g/dL. Limitations in the supply of one or several essential micronutrients like iron could lead to Anemia. Women of productive age, ie those aged 15-49 years have one of the highest prevalence of iron deficiency anemia. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 32.4% of non-pregnant women have anemia in the eastern Mediterranean region. The aim of this study was to evaluate iron deficiency (ID) without anemia frequency in a group of female university students of child bearing age. Materials and methods: Female students at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Arab International University AIU, (n=203), aged between 18-25 years, participated in this cross sectional study. Laboratory analysis including RBC, Hb, Htc, ESR, RDW, iron in serum and ferritin were performed. Results: Levels of iron in serum concentration were normal in 63.5% of the participants. Frequencies of ID with anemia and ID without anemia were 17.7% and 18.7% respectively. Spearman correlation between MCV & RDW was significantly inversely correlated (r=-0.64, p=0.001). Conclusion: Early detection of latent iron deficiency and treatment are of great in a dome especially in women of childbearing age (18-25years). Although the study group is small and further investigations are needed locally, it seems that the combination of MCV-RDW-Hb results could be useful in predicting ID before using more specific and expensive tests. Key words: Iron deficiency, anemia, childbearing age, young women. |
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