Non-Anemic Iron Deficiency: Correlations Between Symptoms and Iron Status Parameters
November 2021
in “
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
”
Studysummary In this study, non-anemic menstruating women with iron deficiency showed significant associations with symptoms such as recent hair loss at serum ferritin levels ≤ 20 µg/l and restless legs syndrome at levels ≤ 50 µg/l.
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This study examined the correlation between symptoms and iron status in 554 non-anemic menstruating women aged 18–50 years. It found that iron deficiency, indicated by low serum ferritin (SF) levels, was significantly associated with recent hair loss and restless legs syndrome. Specifically, hair loss was more common in women with SF levels ≤20 µg/l, while restless legs syndrome was linked to SF levels ≤50 µg/l. The study suggested that non-anemic iron deficiency could affect quality of life, and recommended considering iron supplementation if these symptoms were reported in primary care.
