Anemia - Complications

(Page 2)

• Stopping breastfeeding too early or using formula that isn't iron-fortified.
• Bottle-feeding too long. Bottle-fed babies who are 7 - 9 months old should be weaned from bottles and given sippy cups. By the age of 12 months, all children should be using a cup instead of a bottle.
• Toddlers’ preferences for iron-poor food. Parents should make sure that their children eat iron-rich foods such as beans, meat, fortified cereals, eggs, and green leafy vegetables

Premenopausal Women

Up to 10% or more of adolescent and adult women under age 49 years are iron deficient. Anemia among premenopausal women typically occurs from:

---

---

• Heavy menstruation for longer than 5 days
• Abnormal uterine bleeding, such as from fibroids
• Pregnancy (see below)

Older Adults

Causes of anemia in adults age 65 years and older include nutritional deficiencies, chronic inflammatory disease, and chronic renal disease.

Alcoholism

People with alcoholism are at risk for anemia both from internal bleeding as well as folate- and vitamin B deficiency-related anemias.

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, including:

• 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 and grain products are fortified with an easily absorbed form of vitamin B12 and with folic acid (the synthetic form of folate).

Although nutritional iron-deficiency anemia has declined in industrialized nations, it still affects about 2 billion people worldwide. Even in the U.S., iron deficiency is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency. It is highly associated with poverty. People in lower socioeconomic groups have double the risk of those who are middle or upper class.