There are several conditions and illnesses with symptoms mimicking iron deficiency. Examples are hypothyroidism, profound vitamin D deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency, celiac disease, testosterone deficiency, abnormal calcium metabolism, sleep apnea, heavy smoking and even occult malignancy [3,17].
Certain diseases — such as cancer, HIV / AIDS , rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease, Crohn's disease and other acute or chronic inflammatory diseases — can interfere with the production of red blood cells. Aplastic anemia. This rare, life-threatening anemia occurs when your body doesn't produce enough red blood cells.
Iron deficiency is commonly misdiagnosed. The usual error is misinterpretation of the laboratory features of the anaemia of chronic disease. The serum iron is low, but the iron binding capacity is normal and ferritin is normal or high. There are problems and exceptions involved in interpretation of iron indices.
Iron deficiency without anaemia has been associated with: weakness, fatigue, reduced exercise performance, difficulty in concentrating, and poor work productivity. neurocognitive dysfunction including irritability. fibromyalgia syndrome.
Without enough iron, your body can't produce enough of a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen (hemoglobin). As a result, iron deficiency anemia may leave you tired and short of breath.
Anemia and leukemia are both conditions that affect the blood. Moreover, people with the latter have an increased risk of developing anemia. However, anemia cannot cause leukemia, and these conditions remain different in several important respects.
Iron deficiency anemia “may be the red flag that leads a health care provider to search for cancer,” says Francis, since it's typically caused by blood loss, which often occurs in colon cancer and uterine cancer but is less commonly in bladder cancer.
Causes of Non-anaemic Iron Deficiency (Aetiology) Inadequate intake (nutritional iron deficiency): Plant-based diets with little meat. Low calorie intake in relation to iron requirement - eg, growing children, pregnant young women and the elderly.
Think of it this way: Anemia is caused by lack of Hemoglobin. Iron Deficiency is caused by lack of Iron. Iron Deficiency with Anemia is caused by both a lack of Iron AND a lack of Hemoglobin.
There are three main reasons people become anemic: blood loss, a reduction in the body's ability to produce new red blood cells, or an illness that leads to increased destruction of red blood cells.
It may come about suddenly or over time, and may be caused by your diet, medicines you take, or another medical condition. Anemia can also be chronic, meaning it lasts a long time and may never go away completely. Some types of anemia are inherited. The most common type of anemia is iron-deficiency anemia.
Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein that gives the red color to blood. It carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Anemia has three main causes: blood loss, lack of red blood cell production, and high rates of red blood cell destruction.
Chemotherapy, radiation, and some drugs doctors use to treat leukemia may cause aplastic anemia. This is because some cancer therapies prevent bone marrow from making new, healthy blood cells. White blood cell counts drop first, then platelet counts, and finally, red blood cell counts.
Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause profound alterations in the bone marrow. These alterations can mimic the more serious diagnosis of acute leukemia.
Anemia doesn't usually stand on its own as a specific disease, but rather it stems from other underlying illnesses and can serve as a red flag that there is a much more serious problem below the surface.
If left untreated, iron-deficiency anemia can cause serious health problems. Having too little oxygen in the body can damage organs. With anemia, the heart must work harder to make up for the lack of red blood cells or hemoglobin. This extra work can harm the heart.
There are several reasons why your body may not absorb iron, including: You have an intestinal or digestive condition like celiac disease, autoimmune gastritis, or inflammatory bowel disease like ulcerative colitis, or Crohn's disease. You have a Helicobacter pylori infection of your stomach.
Even in adults the first symptoms of iron deficiency are often neurologic, as those affected will frequently complain of fatigue, brain fog, and also restless legs causing insomnia.
The cancers most closely associated with anemia are: Cancers that involve the bone marrow. Blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma interfere with or destroy the marrow's ability to make healthy blood cells. Other cancers that spread to the bone marrow can also cause anemia.
ACD is a common cause of anemia. Some conditions that can lead to ACD include: Autoimmune disorders, such as Crohn disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis.
Conclusion: Colonoscopy is an effective modality to evaluate iron deficiency anemia, and use of ferritin as a predictor of colorectal neoplams can be effective in identifying those patients at higher risk for neoplasms.
Pathogenesis: Processes caused by the tumor itself can lead to a typical "anemia of chronic disease" which is normochromic, normocytic, accompanied by both a reduced number of reticulocytes and reduced iron-binding capacity.
Computed tomography (CT) - Abdomen and Pelvis: CT uses x-rays to image bones, internal organs, and lymph nodes. It can show an enlarged spleen or certain types of lymph node anemia-related problems. It also finds causes of bleeding, such as gastrointestinal malignancies.
The most common cause of anemia worldwide is iron deficiency. Iron is needed to form hemoglobin, part of red blood cells that carry oxygen and remove carbon dioxide (a waste product) from the body.