Prevalence of Iron Deficiency and Health-related Quality of Life among Female Students |
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Authors: | Marie-Ange Grondin Marc Ruivard Anne Perrève Hélène Derumeaux-Burel Isabelle Perthus Julie Roblin |
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Affiliation: | 1. Centre Hospitalo Universitaire de Clermont-Ferrand (M.-A.G., M.R., H.D.-B., I.P., J.R., F.T., L.G.)M-ange.GRONDIN@u-clermont1.fr;3. Centre Hospitalo Universitaire de Clermont-Ferrand (M.-A.G., M.R., H.D.-B., I.P., J.R., F.T., L.G.);4. Service de Soins Inter Universitaire (A.P.), Clermont-Ferrand, FRANCE |
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Abstract: | Objective: To investigate prevalence of iron deficiency and examine the relationship between iron status and Health-related Quality of Life among female students.Design: Cross-sectional study.Subjects and Setting: Data were collected from 543 female students, aged 17 to 38 years, attending University or secondary schools in Clermont-Ferrand (France) and its metropolitan area. Three groups were defined, according to the rate of serum ferritin: iron deficient (serum ferritin <15μg/L), iron depletion borderline (serum ferritin 15–20 μg/L), and iron replete (serum ferritin > 20 μg/L). Those 3 groups of menstruating female students were compared in terms of health-related quality of life using univariate analysis.Measures of Outcome: Health-related Quality of Life based on SF-36 questionnaire, and iron status measured by serum ferritin.Results: The prevalence of iron deficiency was 19.3 %, the prevalence of borderline iron status was 11.4 %. Regarding the SF-36 questionnaire, the only significant difference between iron deficient and iron replete female students concerned the dimension reflecting ‘general health', which was significantly lower in iron deficient group (p = 0.015).Conclusion: Iron deficiency seems to impair the perceived general health in female students. Further research should be conducted on this little known subject. |
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Keywords: | iron deficiency prevalence quality of life general health SF-36 Questionnaire female students |
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