Iron Deficiency Anemia Research Paper

Iron deficiency anemia is a result of a lack of iron in the red blood cells in the blood. Iron is necessary for making hemoglobin, which is a protein in the blood that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body (What Is Iron-Deficiency Anemia, NHLBI, NHI). Fatigue, dizziness, and pale skin are just a few of the effects that iron deficiency anemia has on the body. The causes of iron deficiency anemia include blood loss, lack of iron in a person's diet, the body's inability to absorb iron, and pregnancy. Since the red blood cells in blood contain the iron people need to nourish their bodies, losing too much blood can cause iron deficiency anemia. Crohn's disease is an inflammatory disease that causes inflammation in the digestive

Some surgeries, such as gastrointestinal surgery, and some diseases, such as celiac disease, cause iron deficiency anemia. "Iron enters the stomach where it is exposed to stomach acid and changed into a form that allows it to be absorbed. The portion of the small intestine called the duodenum is the chief area where iron absorption takes place" (Iron Disorders Institute, Absorption). Since gastric bypass surgery is a type of gastrointestinal surgery that involves removing the part of the small intestine that absorbs iron, this type of surgery can result in an issue with absorbing iron that will then causes iron deficiency anemia. Similarly, celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that damages the small intestines when gluten is ingested (What is Celiac Disease, Celiac Disease Foundation). When the small intestines are damaged, they are unable to absorb iron efficiently, which leads to iron deficiency

"During pregnancy, your blood volume expands to accommodate changes in your body and help your baby make his or her entire blood supply — doubling your need for iron. If you don't have enough iron stores or get enough iron during pregnancy, you could develop iron deficiency anemia" (Mayo Clinic Staff, Anemia during pregnancy: What you need to know, Mayo Clinic). Having back to back pregnancies can cause iron deficiency anemia because of the amount of blood that is lost after having a baby and because of the increase in blood supply due to another pregnancy shortly after the previous pregnancy. Waiting a certain amount of months between pregnancies is recommended in order to prevent developing iron deficiency