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Iron status in a general practice and its relationship to morbidity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2008

M. J. Leyland
Affiliation:
Department of Haematology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, PO Box 147, Liverpool, L69 3BX
H. Harris
Affiliation:
Department of Haematology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, PO Box 147, Liverpool, L69 3BX
P. J. Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Haematology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, PO Box 147, Liverpool, L69 3BX
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Abstract

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1. An epidemiological study of iron status in general practice has been undertaken. An age-sex register was established and a 10% stratified random sample (194 males and 220 females) of the patients above the age of 15 years was studied. A full blood count, serum Fe concentration, transferrin saturation and serum ferritin concentration were measured and correlated with clinical features associated with Fe deficiency.

2. The geometric mean for serum ferritin for males was 77 μg/1 (20–196 μg/1) and for females 37 μg/1 (8–177 μg/1). A low serum ferritin (male < 30 μg/1, female < 20 μg/1) in the absence of anaemia was found in fifteen males and thirty-five females. In this group forty patients had clinical features which are aetiologically associated with Fe deficiency. The incidence of similar features in a control group of thirty-three patients was seven.

3. It is suggested that this is indirect evidence that serum ferritin concentration is the most sensitive monitor of Fe status enabling the detection of pre-anaemic Fe deficiency.

Type
Papers of direct relevance to Clinical and Nutrition
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1979

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