Anemia - Risk Factors

Better social services and more accurate ways of diagnosing and monitoring anemia are needed in these high-risk groups. There is still considerable debate on how to define iron deficiency and anemia in infants. New research suggests that a reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr) test may be better than a standard hemoglobin test for detecting iron deficiency in babies. Reticulocytes are immature red blood cells. The CHr test measures the amount of hemoglobin in these cells.

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Risk Factors for Anemia in Premenopausal Women. In a major government study, 9 - 16% of adolescent and adult women under 49 years were iron deficient. Hispanic and African American women had double the prevalence of Caucasian women. The risk for anemia in adolescent girls is about 3%. Anemia is generally mild in young women, however, and is more likely to occur with one or more of the following conditions:

Heavy menstruation for longer than5 days.
Abnormal uterine bleeding, such as from fibroids.
Pregnancy. About 20% of women in industrialized countries have iron deficiency during pregnancy. Multiple pregnancies and births significantly increase the risk.

Risk Factors for Anemia in Older Adults. Although studies have reported various estimates on the prevalence of anemia in older adults, one recent survey suggested that anemia affects approximately 10% of adults aged 65 years and older, and more than 20% aged 85 years and older. The causes of anemia in older adults were equally distributed among nutritional deficiencies, chronic inflammatory disease/chronic renal disease, and unexplained anemia. Most cases were mild.

People with Alcoholism

People with alcoholism are at risk for anemia both from internal bleeding and vitamin B deficiencies.

People with Iron-Poor Diets

Although most Americans probably consume too much iron in their diets, some people may be at risk for diet-related iron deficiencies:

People whose diets are high in processed foods and lack any meat.
Strict vegetarians. Vegetarians who avoid all animal products may have a slightly higher risk for deficiencies in iron and some B vitamins. Although dried beans and green vegetables often contain iron, it is less easily absorbed from plants than from meat. Fortunately, most commercial cereals are fortified with vitamin B12 and folic acid (the synthetic form of folate).

Chronic or Critical Illnesses

Anyone with a chronic disease that causes inflammation or bleeding is at risk for anemia. Critical illness in the intensive care unit is also highly associated with anemia.