How Common is Iron Deficiency Anemia?
Although the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia has decreased since the 1970s, it is still a concern for infants, children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age, certain ethnic groups, and low-income groups.1,2,3,4,5
General Population
Data from a nationally representative study, the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994), showed that 11% of non-pregnant women between age 16 and 49 were iron deficient, and up to 5% also had iron deficiency anemia. This means approximately 3 million women in the United States may have iron deficiency anemia.3
Subpopulations
The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia varies depending on the subset of the population discussed. For example, studies in the US and abroad have found prevalence of IDA is higher among athletes and female military recruits than among the general population.6,7,8
- Rules and Regulations. Fed Regist. 1997;62(10):2239.
- Looker AC, Dallman PR, Carroll MD, Gunter EW, Johnson CL. Prevalence of iron deficiency in the United States. JAMA. 1997 Mar 26;277(12):973-6.
- Iron deficiency--United States, 1999-2000 [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); 2002 Oct 11 [accessed 2008 Apr 9]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5140a1.htm.
- Dietary supplement fact sheet: iron [Internet]. National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements; 2007 Aug 24 [cited 2008 Apr 20]. Available from: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/iron.asp.
- Killip S, Bennett JM, Chambers MD. Iron deficiency anemia. Am Fam Physician. 2007 Mar 1;75(5):671-8.
- McClung JP, Marchitelli LJ, Friedl KE, Young AJ. Prevalence of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia among three populations of female military personnel in the US Army. J Am Coll Nutr. 2006 Feb;25(1):64-9.
- Dubnov G, Foldes AJ, Mann G, Magazanik A, Siderer M, Constantini N. High prevalence of iron deficiency and anemia in female military recruits. Military Medicine. 2006 Sep;171(9):866-9.
- Dubnov G, Constantini NW. Prevalence of iron depletion and anemia in top-level basketball players. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2004 Feb;14(1):30-7.
