Memory, Attention, and Learning Impacted

For women who are iron deficient or anemic, iron supplements may help improve mental sharpness, say researchers at the Experimental Biology 2004 meeting.

The study shows that even modest levels of iron deficiency have a negative effect on memory, attention, and learning in young women and that taking iron supplements can reverse the impact.

"With iron supplementation, we were able to improve their cognitive functioning," said lead author Dr. Laura Murray-Kolb, a fellow at Pennsylvania State University's department of nutritional sciences.

The study is the first to systematically examine the impact of iron supplementation on the mental performance of women in their childbearing years, investigators say.

More Than Fatigue, Iron Affects Mental Skills

In the US, 11 percent of women in their childbearing years are deficient in iron, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

People need iron to make hemoglobin, the substance that helps red blood cells carry oxygen to the brain and throughout the body. When the blood lacks sufficient hemoglobin, anemia can occur, causing weakness, fatigue, and other symptoms.

While there are many types of anemia, iron-deficiency anemia is the most common type. Women often become anemic because of blood loss from heavy menstrual periods or insufficient iron in the diet.

Since iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia are relatively common in women of childbearing age, older infants, toddlers, and teenage girls, these individuals should be screened periodically to check their iron status, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends.

Iron insufficiency and anemia, beyond making women feel tired, can rob them of sharp mental performance, the Penn study shows.

"Women need to know this actually is affecting their brain and the way they're thinking," said Dr. Murray-Kolb.

The study involved 149 women who were either iron sufficient, iron deficient, or anemic. Each completed a series of eight different computerized tests to measure attention, memory, and learning.

On baseline testing, the women who were iron deficient or anemic performed significantly worse than iron sufficient women of the same age. What is more, anemic women took longer to perform the tasks.

Next, each woman was randomly given either a 60-milligram iron pill or a placebo. After four months, the 113 women remaining in the study repeated the cognitive tests. Those who took iron pills were later able to perform just as well as the iron-sufficient group.

Differences in performance and speed were small but significant, researchers observed.

Problem May Worsen Over Time

Dr. Murray-Kolb suggests that iron deficiency has a cumulative affect on women's ability to function.

"On any one given task, you may not see a huge difference between an anemic woman and an iron sufficient woman, but we do many tasks during the day," she says.

According to federal dietary guidelines, women of childbearing age need 18 milligrams of iron daily, the amount typically included in a woman's multivitamin.

Pregnant women, who need 27 milligrams a day, may take an iron supplement or a prenatal vitamin with iron to meet their higher iron requirements.

To prevent anemia, nutritionists recommend choosing iron-rich foods, like red meat, beans, peas, green leafy vegetables, dried fruits and nuts, whole grain breads, and fortified cereals.

"All too often, anemia is considered an abnormal lab value rather than a serious medical condition," says Dr. Lawrence Tim Goodnaugh, co-chair of the National Anemia Action Council.

Both iron deficiency and anemia are conditions for which evaluation and treatment is mandated, Dr. Goodnaugh says.

The federal health officials also have targeted the problem as part of a national health prevention agenda, Dr. Goodnaugh noted. By 2010, the hope is to reduce the proportion of young children and women of childbearing age with iron deficiency and to lower the percentage of low-income women in their third trimester of pregnancy who are anemic.

Always consult your physician for more information.

Online Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

HealthierUS.Gov

Iron Disorders Institute

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

National Library of Medicine

National Women's Health Information Center

Office of Research on Women's Health

US Food and Drug Administration

June 2004

Women Need Sufficient Iron To Maintain Mental Sharpness

More Than Fatigue, Iron Affects Mental Skills

Problem May Worsen Over Time

What Is Iron-Deficiency Anemia?

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What Is Iron-Deficiency Anemia?

The most common cause of anemia is iron deficiency. Iron is needed to form hemoglobin. Iron is mostly stored in the body in the hemoglobin. About 30 percent of iron is also stored as ferritin and hemosiderin in the bone marrow, spleen, and liver.

Iron-deficiency anemia may be caused by the following:

• diets low in iron
  Iron is obtained from foods in our diet, however, only 1 mg of iron is absorbed for every 10 to 20 mg of iron ingested. A person unable to have a balanced iron-rich diet may suffer from some degree of iron-deficiency anemia.
  
  
• body changes
  An increased iron requirement and increased red blood cell production is required when the body is going through changes such as growth spurts in children and adolescents, or during pregnancy and lactation.
  
  
• gastrointestinal tract abnormalities
  Malabsorption of iron is common after some forms of gastrointestinal surgeries. Most of the iron taken in by foods is absorbed in the upper small intestine. Any abnormalities in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract could alter iron absorption and result in iron-deficiency anemia.
  
  
• blood loss
  Loss of blood can cause a decrease of iron and result in iron-deficiency anemia. Sources of blood loss may include GI bleeding, menstrual bleeding, or injury.

The following are the most common symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia:

• abnormal paleness or lack of color of the skin
  
  
• irritability
  
  
• lack of energy or tiring easily (fatigue)
  
  
• increased heart rate (tachycardia)
  
  
• sore or swollen tongue
  
  
• enlarged spleen
  
  
• a desire to eat peculiar substances such as dirt or ice
  

Iron-deficiency anemia may be suspected from general findings on a complete medical history and physical examination, such as complaints of tiring easily, abnormal paleness or lack of color of the skin, or a fast heartbeat (tachycardia).

Iron-deficiency anemia is usually discovered during a medical examination through a blood test that measures the amount of hemoglobin (number of red blood cells) present, and the amount of iron in the blood.

In addition to a complete medical history and physical examination, diagnostic procedures for iron-deficiency anemia may include the following:

• additional blood tests
  
  
• bone marrow aspiration and/or biopsy - a procedure that involves taking a small amount of bone marrow fluid (aspiration) and/or solid bone marrow tissue (called a core biopsy), usually from the hip bones, to be examined for the number, size, and maturity of blood cells and/or abnormal cells.
  

The symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia may resemble other blood conditions or medical problems. Always consult your physician for a diagnosis.