Iron that isn’t used for hemoglobin or other functions is stored in the bone marrow and liver as a protein called ferritin. When the body’s iron stores dip, the remaining iron is redirected to the maintenance of red blood cells at the expense of heart, brain and muscular functions, Dr. Munro said. If the body uses up its stores, iron deficiency can lead to a reduction in hemoglobin and the number of healthy red blood cells, called anemia.
So someone with normal hemoglobin levels might still have low levels of iron, Dr. Munro said. There are other forms of anemia, including inherited red blood cell disorders like sickle cell disease, but anemia caused by iron deficiency is the most common type in the U.S.
The symptoms of iron deficiency are often nonspecific and nebulous, including shortness of breath, brain fog, fatigue, lightheadedness, increased sensitivity to cold temperatures and heart palpitations — all of which could be signs of many other health conditions too, said Dr. Angela Weyand, a pediatric hematologist at University of Michigan Medical School. It is also associated with several other negative health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances and even heart failure, she said.
During pregnancy, when the demand for iron in the mother, the placenta and the growing fetus increases, so too does the risk that iron deficiency turns into anemia. Iron deficiency and anemia during pregnancy have been linked to neurodevelopmental problems in the offspring and to pregnancy complications, said Dr. Michael Georgieff, a pediatrics professor and co-director of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain at the University of Minnesota.
Complicating matters, there is debate among medical institutions about what is considered a healthy amount of iron in the blood. Some researchers suggest that the thresholds for women should be higher than the current cutoff, which was established by the World Health Organization in 1968 with incomplete data, Dr. Weyand said.
Source link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/well/live/iron-deficiency-symptoms-women.html