Iron and Women’s Health

Abstract

Iron is an essential mineral required for transport of oxygen throughoutthe body and for the optimal development of the fetal brain.Iron-intake requirements are regulated by the size of body iron stores.Lifestyle factors that often influence iron status in women includeamount of iron consumed, use of oral contraceptives, use of hormonereplacement therapy, vegetarianism, intestinal parasites, blooddonation, and regular intense exercise.Iron-deficiency prevalence, defined by direct measurement of tissueiron, is about 30% in adult women in developed countries; in contrast,iron deficiency defined by indirect measures such as in NHANES suggestsa prevalence of about 10%. Iron deficiency is associated with impairedphysical work performance, developmental delay, depressed immunefunction, and cognitive impairment.Women are more at risk for iron deficiency and anemia due to iron lossesthrough menstruation, pregnancy, and lactation and/or inadequate dietaryiron intake.During pregnancy, indices of iron status are in constant flux; however,iron deficiency anemia in the first trimester is consistently associatedwith premature delivery, low birth weight, perinatal infant and maternalmortality.Iron requirements decrease by about 50% after menopause; however, ironis one of the nutrients that are often deficient in the diets of manyolder adults.Adverse effects associated with genetically inherited diseasecharacterized by high iron body stores, namely hemochromatosis, mayinclude the development of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, andlow bone mineral density.