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Iron Absorption in Relation to Transferrin Saturation and Other Factors
Author(s) -
Taylor M. R. H.,
Gatenby P. B. B.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1966.tb00161.x
Subject(s) - transferrin saturation , iron deficiency , serum iron , transferrin , anemia , chemistry , medicine , physiology , endocrinology , immunology
A ttempts have been made in the past to relate iron absorption to the results of blood and serological tests. Pirzio‐Biroli and Finch (1960) looked, without success, for relationships between iron absorption and age, sex, haematocrit, reticulocyte count, plasma iron and marrow iron. Shultz and Smith (1958) using 59 Fe labelled eggs, found relationships between iron absorption and age ( r =−0.2892), serum iron ( r =−0.2430) and haemoglobin concentration ( r =−0.1545), in 90 normal children. Wheby and Umpierre (1964) found that saturation of a subject's transferrin by intravenous iron made little difference to the amount of iron absorbed as compared to a control test on the same subject, although the site of deposition of the iron was affected. A study was undertaken to see if there was any relationship between iron absorption and the results of blood and serological tests with special reference to anaemia. In the past, workers have segregated subjects into ‘‘iron deficient’ and ‘normal’ taking some arbitrary dividing line. This is an artificial division. Many cases of iron deficiency develop slowly from persistent iron loss or dietary deficiency, so that many stages between iron repletion and severe iron deficiency are to be found. The subjects in this study were considered as a single group, some being severely iron deficient and anaemic, and others being apparently normal. It was thought that this approach would be more likely to show up any relationships which were present, than would an analysis which involved arbitrary grouping of the subjects.