Risks of iron deficiency among vegetarian college women

Abstract

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional deficiency disease worldwide and poses a major threat in women of child-bearing age and those who follow a vegetarian diet. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether differences exist in iron status markers between female university students following a vegetarian and non-vegetarian diet. This study took a cross sectional analysis of 39 female students at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly State University) in San Luis Obispo, CA between the ages of 18 and 22. Of the participants, 19 followed a vegetarian diet and 20 followed a nonvegetarian diet. Characteristic, demographic, and anthropometric data were collected and analyzed. The results showed no significant difference in iron intake between the two groups. However, nearly 66% of vegetarians and 65% of non-vegetarians failed to meet the Recommended Daily Allowance for iron. No significant difference was found for serum iron, serum ferritin, transfer-rin saturation, and total iron binding capacity between subjects. Serum ferritin tended to be lower for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians. Both vegetarians and non-vegetarians were in stage IV negative iron balance, with more vegetarians tending to be in stage IV negative iron balance than non-vegetarians. Thus, female college students, irrespective of their meat intake, may be at higher risk of developing negative iron balance and should be educated about iron deficiency anemia and the prevention of iron depletion

Physiological and Dietary Determinants of Iron Status in Spanish Vegetarians

“…This study examined the iron status of Spanish vegetarians for the first time. The results reveal that IDA prevalence was low, consistent with previous reports in vegetarians from developed countries [13,24,25]. In order to detect iron deficiency before the appearance of IDA, sTfR in addition to the classical iron markers was determined.…”

“…While non-menstruating women and men lose approximately 1 mg of iron daily, menstruating women lose 10 to 42 extra mg per menstrual cycle [6]. This loss leads to lower iron status in women of reproductive age than in men independently of their diet [13]. Menstruation could be of special interest in vegetarian women, as previous reports suggest that they present menstrual alterations [14].…”

Nutrition status and quantification of blood minerals by TXRF spectroscopy in vegetarian and non-vegetarian university students

“…The higher consumption of MUFA and PUFA corroborates previous studies (Hawk, Englehardt & Small, 2012;Kristensen et al, 2015) as well as the higher ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids (Majewska et al, 2016) and fiber intake (Vinagre, Vinagre, Pozzi, Zacari & Maranhao, 2014). However, no influence of this dietary pattern on plasma concentrations of total cholesterol were noted between the groups, contradicting studies that evidence this tendency when food of animal origin is restricted (Santos et al, 2013;Vinagre et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2015).…”

“…Two studies have found similar values (Hawk et al, 2012;Shridhar et al, 2014). Shridhar et al (2014) found average intake of Fe between 25.5 mg and 22.4 mg in vegetarians and nonvegetarians, respectively, while in another study, this adjustment was found only in males, with an average intake of 18.5 mg (Hawk et al, 2012). Part of the discrepancy between the studies is due to food fortification, different evaluation methodologies and different consumption patterns.…”

Improvements in Iron Status and Cognitive Function in Young Women Consuming Beef or Non-Beef Lunches

“…National surveys within North America report rates of iron deficiency in women aged 20–49 years of 15% (United States) [ 1 ], 19%–27% (Mexico) [ 2 ], and 9% (Canada) [ 3 ]. An even higher rate of iron deficiency among female university students in the United States (30%–50%) [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ] poses the risk of compromised academic achievement due to deficiency-related cognition impairment.…”