Who may need extra iron to prevent a deficiency?
Three groups of people are most likely to benefit from iron supplements: people who do not absorb iron normally, those people with a greater need for iron and those who for some reason tend to lose more iron. These types of people typically include: • premature and low birth weight babies • older infants and toddlers • teenage girls • pregnant women • women of childbearing age, especially those with heavy menstrual losses • people with renal failure, especially those undergoing routine dialysis • people with gastrointestinal disorders who do not absorb iron normally Those individuals with kidney failure, especially those being treated with dialysis, are at high risk for developing iron deficiency anemia. This is because their kidneys cannot create sufficient amounts of erythropoietin, a hormone needed to make red blood cells. Both iron and erythropoietin can be lost during kidney dialysis. People who regularly have dialysis treatments commonly need a boost of iron and synthetic erythro
