Prevalence of iron deficiency in swedish adolescents

Abstract

The prevalence of iron deficiency was deter- i mined in Göteborg, Sweden, in a sample of 15- to I6-y-old (girls (n = 220) and boys (n = 207) using serum ferritin (SF). In a recent study in women on the relationship < between SF and stainablc bone marrow iron, it was estab- ı lished that at a cutoff value for SF of <16 Mg/L in 75% of 1 women with no iron stores SF concentration was below this t value (sensitivity 757c), whereas in 987c of iron-replete women it was above this cutoff value (specificity 987c). 1 The present study showed that in 407o of the girls and 1 157o of the boys SF was below this cutoff value, indicating t iron deficiency. Low SF" concentration was associated with (significant decreases in transferrin saturation, lib concen- i tration, mean corpuscular lib, and mean corpuscular vol-; ume. The results from this cross-sectional study showed (that, with decreasing SF, the decrease of values for these (parameters occurred already before SF had reached the I level 16 jig/L, suggesting that SF can be validly used as a i single criterion of iron deficiency. Using the cutoff value SF < 16 Mg/L, the figures for the prevalence of iron (deficiency in adolescents in different countries were compared and found to be rather similar in Australia, Canada, the United States, and Sweden. High iron requirements (combined with the present low-energy life-style leading to s an insufficient supply of dietary iron may be a reasonable i main explanation for the paradoxical, high prevalence of (iron deficiency in adolescents in affluent societies. © 1993 International Pediatric Research Foundation. Inc.