Anemia can be a cause of fatigue

Press, 14 June 1980, Page 10

Anemia can be a cause of fatigue

We know that anaemia affects women in New Zealand more than men. Anaemia can be the cause of constant tiredness and lack of energy which many women experience.

Why is this so? What are the consequences? Housewives and mothers particularly, who are busy looking after' the family, are most commonly affected.

Anaemia is due to lack of nutrient or building materials for. the red cells of -the blood. These cells are red because inside them is a pigment called haemoglobin. Haemoglobin carries oxygen from the air in the lungs to all body tissues.

A common form of anaemia in housewives and mothers is caused by lack of iron. With continued loss of red-cells of the blood and iron at each menstrual period, and perhaps some deficiency 7 in the diet, anaemia develops. In normal women, but

not men, there is a very marginal balance in iron gains and losses.

ABSORPTION OF IRON Natural iron in food must be changed chemically by stomach acid. Then it is taken up in the small intestine. Some older people develop atrophy or loss of stomach lining cells. These stomach lining cells make acid and when lost or atrophied, no longer change food iron satisfactorily. As levels of iron, carried in the blood, fall lower, relatively more iron is absorbed from the intestinal tract. Foods rich in iron which we should eat regularly include lean meat, liver — especially palatable as pate — whole grain cereals, potato skins, and skim milk. We do gain a small amount of iron from green vegetables, but if we depended on it, we would need to eat an awful lot of spinach. LOSS FROM BODY The major loss of iron is from the regular men* strual blood loss from the lining of the uterus. The heavier your period the more the iron loss. These red-cells lost must be made up, and iron stores are drawn on. This store of iron comes from the dietary food.

Childbearing draws heavily on reserve stores. As there is already a critical balance between iron in food, the amount which can be absorbed, and stored, it follows that women of childbearing age are particularly prone to iron deficiency anaemia. WORK AND ANAEMIA Worker productivity has been measured in teaworking women by a research group from Los Angeles and Sri Lanka. They measured the amount of tea picked each day by women tea pickers in the planatations. Half of these women were given tablets containing iron, and the other half similar pills without iron. This is called a control trial. The women taking, iron fablers showed improved worker productivity as iron deficiency anaemia improved. The level of physical activity in everyday activity was also recorded. In the anaemic women treated with iron it improved markedly. Anaemia is very common in certain Pacific Islands and South East Asian women. So this study has important implications for worker productivity in such developing countries.

If you have heavy periods, or have recently had children, you should

have a blood check from your doctor for anaemia. Iron tablets may be needed

if your family doctor finds your red-cell haemoglobin, or pigment levels lower than normal.