Researcher suggests that iron-deficiency anemia affect about. 5% of younger women, which was lower than for just a few decades ago. There are several reasons for this positive development, but the increased use of iron tablets has probably the greatest importance.
Iron-deficiency anemia is a far more serious problem in developing countries than in developed countries, both in terms of occurrence and extent. A general lack of food with low iron content leads to an anemia that can worsen chronic and worms.
Questions about how iron supply can best be increased in groups that may have too little iron supplied through the diet is highly debated. There is little disagreement that the most important measures must be to encourage an increased consumption of iron-rich foods, mainly cereals and wholemeal flour. In country Sweden, sifted flour added iron, while in some country was only goat cheese that is iron fortified. Iron tablets to those who really need extra supplements of iron, seems to be the best solution in addition to a balanced normal diet.
The diagnosis of iron deficiency is made by blood tests. Detection of base serum iron and despicable saturation of the transport protein, transferrin iron deficiency it meant. Another method is the indirect measurement of body iron stores by determining the level of ferritin in the blood. Ferritin consists of a spherical protein shell (apoferritin) that can bind iron, and thereby saves iron in the body. Some of the ferritin "leak" into the blood and the amount of ferritin in the blood correlates well with body iron stores. Values below 10 mcg in the serum of women and 30 micrograms in the serum of men may be perceived as a sign of iron deficiency.