Iron Deficiency and Anemia May Be More Common Than We Know

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 6 December 2024

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

Low iron levels can cause fatigue and impact mental health, but doctors often miss cases of iron deficiency and anemia. Pediatric hematologist Angela Weyand, a clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, points to one population that could be at a higher risk—young women with heavy menstrual bleeding. In one study from a national database, nearly 40 percent of otherwise healthy adolescent women were iron-deficient, and 6 percent were additionally anemic. Awareness and self-advocacy could help people receive accessible and inexpensive treatments for low iron levels. Recommended reading: “Prevalence of Iron Deficiency and Iron-Deficiency Anemia in US Females Aged 12–21 Years, 2003–2020,” by Angela C. Weyand et al., in JAMA, Vol. 329, No. 24; June 27, 2023 What Is Implicit Bias, and How Might It Affect Your Next Medical Visit? E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Fonda Mwangi, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:21.9	use right now. That's why the world works with ServiceNow. Visit servicenow.com
0:27.8	slash UK slash AI for people. Picture the teens in your life. Are they getting enough sleep?
0:36.2	If not, you might assume they're just falling prey
0:38.8	to late nights on social media and school-related stress. But research suggests that for a huge
0:45.4	percentage of kids and young adults, low iron levels may be to blame for their fatigue. And it turns
0:51.6	out that menstruation poses a bigger risk to iron levels than many doctors
0:56.0	realize. For Scientific American Science quickly, I'm Rachel Feldman. My guest today is Angela Wyand,
1:03.4	a pediatric chematologist and clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan Medical
1:08.5	School in Ann Arbor. She's here to explain how iron deficiency can affect everything from energy levels to mental
1:15.7	health, regardless of whether it leads to full-blown anemia, and why doctors so often miss it,
1:21.6	especially in adolescence.
1:25.5	Thanks so much for coming on to chat today.
1:27.8	Thanks for having me.
1:28.9	So let's start with a pretty basic question.
1:31.4	What is anemia and why is it so important that it's correctly diagnosed?
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