1. Risk factors
1.1. gender
1.1.1. females
1.1.2. pregnancy and menorrhagia
1.2. ethnicity
1.2.1. more prevalent in black and less common in non-hispanic whites
1.3. poverty
1.3.1. insufficient iron intake
1.4. chronic disease
1.5. surgeries
1.6. socioeconomic status
2. Common findings
2.1. early symptoms
2.1.1. fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, pale earlobes, palms and conjunctivae
2.2. excessive bleeding
2.3. severe symptoms
2.3.1. structural and functional changes in epithelial tissue
2.3.2. brittle, coarsely ridged, spoon shaped and thin fingernails
2.3.3. unexplained mouth burning
2.3.4. tongue papillae atropy and soreness
2.4. confusion due to hypoxia
2.5. pain
3. Treatment
3.1. medical
3.1.1. iron replacement tablets
3.1.1.1. could be IV, or PO
3.1.2. prenatal vitamins
3.1.3. IV iron infusions
3.2. diet
3.2.1. iron reach diet intake
3.3. depends on identification and elimination of source of blood loss
3.3.1. transfusions
3.3.2. control bleeding
3.3.3. post hemorrhage care
3.3.3.1. diet, rehab, medical treatments
4. inflammation
4.1. inflammatory response can produce cytokines, a protein that protects the body against infection and interfere with iron processing and red blood cell production
5. Pathophysiologic etiology,
5.1. inadequate dietary intake of iron
5.1.1. excessive blood loss
5.2. in both cases, iron store is depleted and reduce hemoglobin synthesis
5.3. metabolic or functional iron deficiency
5.3.1. iron stores maybe sufficient but delivery is inadequate
6. Causative factors
6.1. pregnancy
6.2. insufficient dietary intake of iron
6.3. eating disorders such as apica
6.3.1. apiece:- eating dirt, chalk and paper
6.4. chronic blood loss
6.4.1. 2 to 4 ml/day blood loss (1 to 2 mg iron)
6.4.1.1. may be due to
6.4.1.1.1. h.pylori
6.4.1.1.2. cancer
6.4.1.1.3. esophagitis
6.4.1.1.4. ulcers
6.5. use of medication such as NSAIDs
6.6. surgical procedures such as gastric bypass
7. diagnostic tests
7.1. laboratory
7.1.1. low iron levels
7.1.2. low hemoglobin and hematocrit level
7.2. bone marrow biopsy
7.2.1. measure iron stores
7.3. iron staining
7.4. serum ferritin laboratory tests
7.5. assessment
7.5.1. findings like fingernail and tongue presentations
7.5.2. weakness and fatigue
7.5.3. unexplained bleeding