Women's Health - June 2004

Women Need Sufficient Iron To Maintain Mental Sharpness

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.