Women
Need Sufficient Iron To Maintain Mental Sharpness
Memory, Attention, and Learning
Impacted
For women who are
iron deficient or anemic, iron supplements may help improve
mental sharpness, say researchers at the Experimental
Biology 2004 meeting.
The study shows that
even modest levels of iron deficiency have a negative effect
on memory, attention, and learning in young women and that taking
iron supplements can reverse the impact.
"With iron supplementation,
we were able to improve their cognitive functioning," said lead
author Dr. Laura Murray-Kolb, a fellow at Pennsylvania State
University's department of nutritional sciences.
The study is the first
to systematically examine the impact of iron supplementation
on the mental performance of women in their childbearing years,
investigators say.
More
Than Fatigue, Iron Affects Mental Skills
In the US, 11 percent
of women in their childbearing years are deficient in iron,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
People need iron to
make hemoglobin, the substance that helps red blood cells carry
oxygen to the brain and throughout the body. When the blood
lacks sufficient hemoglobin, anemia can occur, causing weakness,
fatigue, and other symptoms.
While there are many
types of anemia, iron-deficiency anemia is the most common type.
Women often become anemic because of blood loss from heavy menstrual
periods or insufficient iron in the diet.
Since iron deficiency
and iron-deficiency anemia are relatively common in women of
childbearing age, older infants, toddlers, and teenage girls,
these individuals should be screened periodically to check their
iron status, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends.
Iron insufficiency
and anemia, beyond making women feel tired, can rob them of
sharp mental performance, the Penn study shows.
"Women need to know
this actually is affecting their brain and the way they're thinking,"
said Dr. Murray-Kolb.
The study involved
149 women who were either iron sufficient, iron deficient, or
anemic. Each completed a series of eight different computerized
tests to measure attention, memory, and learning.
On baseline testing,
the women who were iron deficient or anemic performed significantly
worse than iron sufficient women of the same age. What is more,
anemic women took longer to perform the tasks.
Next, each woman was
randomly given either a 60-milligram iron pill or a placebo.
After four months, the 113 women remaining in the study repeated
the cognitive tests. Those who took iron pills were later able
to perform just as well as the iron-sufficient group.
Differences in performance
and speed were small but significant, researchers observed.
Problem
May Worsen Over Time
Dr. Murray-Kolb suggests
that iron deficiency has a cumulative affect on women's ability
to function.
"On any one given
task, you may not see a huge difference between an anemic woman
and an iron sufficient woman, but we do many tasks during the
day," she says.
According to federal
dietary guidelines, women of childbearing age need 18 milligrams
of iron daily, the amount typically included in a woman's multivitamin.
Pregnant women, who
need 27 milligrams a day, may take an iron supplement or a prenatal
vitamin with iron to meet their higher iron requirements.
To prevent anemia,
nutritionists recommend choosing iron-rich foods, like red meat,
beans, peas, green leafy vegetables, dried fruits and nuts,
whole grain breads, and fortified cereals.
"All too often, anemia
is considered an abnormal lab value rather than a serious medical
condition," says Dr. Lawrence Tim Goodnaugh, co-chair of the
National Anemia Action Council.
Both iron deficiency
and anemia are conditions for which evaluation and treatment
is mandated, Dr. Goodnaugh says.
The federal health
officials also have targeted the problem as part of a national
health prevention agenda, Dr. Goodnaugh noted. By 2010, the
hope is to reduce the proportion of young children and women
of childbearing age with iron deficiency and to lower the percentage
of low-income women in their third trimester of pregnancy who
are anemic.
Always consult your
physician for more information.
Online
Resources
(Our Organization
is not responsible for the content of Internet sites.)
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
HealthierUS.Gov
Iron
Disorders Institute
National
Institutes of Health (NIH)
National
Library of Medicine
National
Women's Health Information Center
Office
of Research on Women's Health
US
Food and Drug Administration |
June
2004
Women
Need Sufficient Iron To Maintain Mental Sharpness
More
Than Fatigue, Iron Affects Mental Skills
Problem
May Worsen Over Time
What
Is Iron-Deficiency Anemia?
Online
Resources
What
Is Iron-Deficiency Anemia?
The most common cause
of anemia is iron deficiency. Iron is needed to form hemoglobin.
Iron is mostly stored in the body in the hemoglobin. About 30
percent of iron is also stored as ferritin and hemosiderin in
the bone marrow, spleen, and liver.
Iron-deficiency anemia
may be caused by the following:
-
diets low in iron
Iron is obtained from foods in our diet, however, only
1 mg of iron is absorbed for every 10 to 20 mg of iron
ingested. A person unable to have a balanced iron-rich
diet may suffer from some degree of iron-deficiency anemia.
-
body changes
An increased iron requirement and increased red blood
cell production is required when the body is going through
changes such as growth spurts in children and adolescents,
or during pregnancy and lactation.
-
gastrointestinal
tract abnormalities
Malabsorption of iron is common after some forms of gastrointestinal
surgeries. Most of the iron taken in by foods is absorbed
in the upper small intestine. Any abnormalities in the
gastrointestinal (GI) tract could alter iron absorption
and result in iron-deficiency anemia.
-
blood loss
Loss of blood can cause a decrease of iron and result
in iron-deficiency anemia. Sources of blood loss may include
GI bleeding, menstrual bleeding, or injury.
The following are
the most common symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia:
-
abnormal paleness or lack
of color of the skin
-
-
lack of energy or tiring
easily (fatigue)
-
increased heart rate (tachycardia)
-
-
-
a desire to eat peculiar
substances such as dirt or ice
Iron-deficiency anemia
may be suspected from general findings on a complete medical
history and physical examination, such as complaints of tiring
easily, abnormal paleness or lack of color of the skin, or a
fast heartbeat (tachycardia).
Iron-deficiency anemia
is usually discovered during a medical examination through a
blood test that measures the amount of hemoglobin (number of
red blood cells) present, and the amount of iron in the blood.
In addition to a complete
medical history and physical examination, diagnostic procedures
for iron-deficiency anemia may include the following:
-
-
bone marrow aspiration and/or
biopsy - a procedure that involves taking a small amount
of bone marrow fluid (aspiration) and/or solid bone marrow
tissue (called a core biopsy), usually from the hip bones,
to be examined for the number, size, and maturity of blood
cells and/or abnormal cells.
The symptoms of iron-deficiency
anemia may resemble other blood conditions or medical problems.
Always consult your physician for a diagnosis. |
