“…Indeed, in light of these new findings, the role of combination therapy employing both iron and ascorbate requires critical reappraisal for the treating iron-deficiency anaemia. The following epidemiological observations are pertinent to this discussion: (1) while ascorbate deficiency is thought to be rare in Western countries, it is surprising that 7.1% of US adults and up to 40% of elderly UK individuals (≥65 years) were ascorbate-deficient [ 7 - 9 ]; (2) low ascorbate is common in critical care patients[ 10 ], including Australian dialysis patients [ 11 ]; (3) ascorbate deficiency remains a critical problem in the third world, and also in indigenous populations, e.g ., Australian Aborigines [ 12 ]; and (4) by age 80 years, up to 10% of Australians are anaemic, and this contributes to significantly increased risk of disability, morbidity and death [ 13 ]. Thus, optimising combinations of iron and ascorbate could be vital.…”