Lecture 20 - Biochemical Assessment of Iron Status 1 Flashcards
what are some functions of iron
- oxygen carrying (haemoglobin)
- oxygen storage (myoglobin)
- oxidative production cellular energy
- glycolysis in muscles
- serotonin and norepinephrine production
- neutrophil function
consequences of iron deficiency anaemia
- decreased work capacity
- fatigue
- behavioural disturbances
- decreased cognitive function
- decreased growth
- spoon shaped nails
what are the consequences of non anaemic iron deficiency
- possibly decreased cognitive function
- possibly increased fatigue
- possibly decreased mood
- possibly decreased work capacity
- increased risk of iron deficiency anaemia
what is the aetiology of iron deficiency
- low intake or poor absorption
- high requirements : growth, blood loss, pregnancy
what groups are at risk of iron deficiency
- infants (especially pre term)
- toddlers (~%30 suboptimal Fe status)
- people who are menstruating (~13%)
- pregnant people
- blood loss
- vegetarians (increased phytate intake, no intake red meat or meat, fish, poultry factor)
what is the relevance of clinical assessment of iron status
not used in research or monitoring setting but can be used if someone is in severe iron deficiency state
is dietary assessment used as assessment of iron status
yes
is anthropometric assessment used as assessment of iron status
not relavent
what is the most important nutritional assessment method in the assessment of iron status and why
biochemical assessment
- the amount you absorb is massively affected by what your iron stores are and by enhances + inhibitors
- you can not tell whether someone is iron deficient from dietary assessment, you must use biochemical assessment
red blood cells are broken down all the time by …..
reticulo-epithelial cells in areas like the liver and spleen
what happens when red blood cells are broken down
some is stored as ferratin other is used to make haemoglobin again
what are the 5 red cell indices when looking at iron status
- haemoglobin
- haematocrit (packed cell volume )
- mean cell volume
- red cell distribution width
- erythrocyte protoporphyrin
what is mean cell volume
Ht / RBC
relationship between haematocrit and red blood cell count
what is red cell distribution
the variation in the size of cells
what is erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP or ZIPP
the immature stage in the production of haemoglobin
- zinc will be replaced by iron in this process but if you don’t have enough iron then the zinc stays and you have erythrocyte protoporphyrin instead of heme
what will happen to haemoglobin if you have iron deficiency anaemia
will decrease
what will happen to hematocrit if you have iron deficiency anaemia
decrease
what will happen to mean cell volume if you have iron deficiency anaemia
decrease
what will happen to red cell distribution width if you have iron deficiency anaemia
will be greater (some are small and some are normal so there will be a greater difference in size)
what will happen to eythrocyte protoporphyrin if you have iron deficiency anaemia
will be greater
what are the biochemical indices of iron status
- serum ferritin
- soluble transferrin receptor
- serum iron
- total iron binding capacity
- transferrin saturation
what is soluble transferrin receptor
the receptor for pricking up the transferrin
the hungrier that a cell is for iron, the more receptors it will put on the surface to pick up more iron
why are we able to measure soluble transferrin receptor and ferratin in the blood
because some ferratin leaks out into the blood and some soluble transferrin receptor will bud off the cell into the blood