Consequences of iron depletion on health in menstruating women

To examine the consequences of single iron depletion on health in menstruating women, a common but rarely investigated situation in industrialized countries.

We studied data issued from the SU.VI.MAX. cohort via a transversal and a longitudinal (2-y follow-up) approach.

Iron-depleted menstruating women (ferritin &<15 micro g/l, n=472) were compared with iron-sufficient (ferritin 30-80 micro g/l, n=393) menstruating women (aged 35-51 y) in terms of health variables and quality of life (DUKE score) using logistic regression and analysis of variance.

The risk of any infection or of specific types of infections was not increased by iron deficiency. Regarding the DUKE health profile, no specific score was significantly different between the two groups: only the scores reflecting 'physical health' (P=0.09) and 'perceived health' (P=0.12) showed a trend toward a lower level, while the best score for 'mental health' (P=0.11) was found in the group of iron-depleted women. The only significant difference between iron-depleted and iron-sufficient women concerned memory disorders, which were significantly less common in iron-depleted women, Odds ratio=0.7 (0.6-0.9; P=0.03).

There is no conclusive evidence that an absence of iron stores has negative consequences; however, we must consider that in the case of a worsening of the iron balance, it may lead to a rapid decrease in the level of functional compounds.

The laboratory Robapharm, Pierre Fabre, France.