Does dietary iron intake influence the iron status in hospitalised elderly patients?
PURPOSE: To investigate whether there is a relationship between dietary iron intake and body iron store in hospitalised elderly. METHODS: During a three months period, 163 consecutive patients older than 70 years and irrespective of their medical diagnosis participated in this study. Eight patients were excluded because of a lack of co-operation or a too bad general condition. Total food intake data were collected at admission by using a 7 days food-intake and nutrient-supplement record. The average daily dietary intake of each of the nutrients (total energy intake and potential inhibiting or enhancing factors such as calcium, dietary fibres and vitamin C) were calculated. Serum levels of ferritin, iron, transferrin, haemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume were also measured in the 155 study patients. RESULTS: A depleted iron store, defined as a serum ferritin level < 50 microg/L, was found in 23 patients (15%) of whom 17 were anaemic. The mean daily intake of iron (9.5 mg for the tota
