What are the symptoms of iron deficiency?
Iron deficiency can lead to anaemia when the iron stores in the body become depleted and hemoglobin synthesis is inhibited. Symptoms and signs of anaemia include: • feeling tired and weak, • lacking stamina and decreased work and school performance, • slow cognitive and social development during childhood, • difficulty in maintaining body temperature, • decreased immune function, which increases susceptibility to infection, • breathlessness, • headaches, • insomnia, • loss of appetite, and • pallor. All the above are associated with decreased oxygen supply to tissues and organs. Iron also plays an important role in the immune system, people with low iron levels having lowered resistance to infection.
