Biomaterial Database

[Parameters for the assessment of iron status]. 2000

A A Paiva, and P H Rondó, and E M Guerra-Shinohara

Departamento de Nutrição, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.

The assessment of iron status at individual and populational levels has been the target of many studies because some issues still need to be defined. A Medline, Lilacs and Dedalus literature review was carried out for the period of 1972 to 1998 and scientific publications in both English and Portuguese relating hematological and biochemical parameters were used in the assessment of iron status. The parameters reflect the three different stages of iron storage deficiency, which occur in a gradual and progressive way leading to the development of anaemia. In general, when used alone, these parameters are neither sensitive nor specific for detecting iron deficiency anaemia. Moreover, some advantages and limitations should be taken into consideration for the choice of the appropriate parameter. To improve both sensitivity and specificity, different parameters have been used in association and their specific contribution is determined according to the characteristics of the study population, methodological issues and the costs involved in the process.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007501	Iron	A metallic element with atomic symbol Fe, atomic number 26, and atomic weight 55.85. It is an essential constituent of HEMOGLOBINS; CYTOCHROMES; and IRON-BINDING PROTEINS. It plays a role in cellular redox reactions and in the transport of OXYGEN.	Iron-56,Iron 56
D009752	Nutritional Status	State of the body in relation to the consumption and utilization of nutrients.	Nutrition Status,Status, Nutrition,Status, Nutritional
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000090463	Iron Deficiencies	Deficient amounts of iron in the body as a result of blood loss, diets deficient in iron, or an iron uptake or storage disorder.	Hypoferritinemia,Iron Deficiency,Latent Iron Deficiency,Sideropenia,Deficiencies, Iron,Deficiencies, Latent Iron,Deficiency, Iron,Deficiency, Latent Iron,Hypoferritinemias,Iron Deficiencies, Latent,Iron Deficiency, Latent,Latent Iron Deficiencies,Sideropenias
D012680	Sensitivity and Specificity	Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)	Specificity,Sensitivity,Specificity and Sensitivity
D018798	Anemia, Iron-Deficiency	Anemia characterized by decreased or absent iron stores, low serum iron concentration, low transferrin saturation, and low hemoglobin concentration or hematocrit value. The erythrocytes are hypochromic and microcytic and the iron binding capacity is increased.	Iron-Deficiency Anemia,Anemias, Iron-Deficiency,Iron-Deficiency Anemias,Anemia, Iron Deficiency,Anemias, Iron Deficiency,Iron Deficiency Anemia,Iron Deficiency Anemias