This week, Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Don Rockey about iron deficiency anemia. Dr. Rockey is a Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Director of the MUSC Digestive Disease Research Center.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. The iron from the food that you eat is absorbed into your body by the cells that line the gastrointestinal tract. Doctor Don Rockey is here to talk about the important role that iron plays in our overall health and also iron deficiency. Doctor Rockey is a Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and he's Director of the MUSC Digestive Disease Research Center. Doctor Rockey, tell us about the role that iron plays in maintaining good health.
Dr. Rockey: Bobbi iron is one of the most important molecules in mankind. Iron is a part of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the molecule that carries oxygen to all of our tissues, and therefore iron is fundamentally important.
Conner: How common is iron deficiency anemia?
Dr. Rockey: So, iron deficiency anemia is one of the most common causes of anemia. It is pervasive throughout the entire world. It's very common in the United States.
Conner: What are the symptoms of iron deficiency.
Dr. Rockey: So, iron deficiency anemia, so any kind of anemia will cause you to be tired, perhaps have a little bit of shortness of breath and just feel fatigued.
Conner: And how is this type of anemia typically diagnosed.
Dr. Rockey: So the diagnosis is fairly straightforward. It's simply a blood test. Your physician can measure the amount of hemoglobin you have in your blood, and can also measure the amount of iron you have in your blood.
Conner: And what do you do after you receive a diagnosis of iron deficiency or iron deficiency anemia?
Dr. Rockey: Yeah. So, the treatment of iron deficiency anemia is fairly straightforward. And it involves generally adding more iron to your diet. You can take supplemental iron pills. Sometimes these can be difficult to tolerate. And so we have different types of iron pills. The other thing that we can do which is gaining popularity is you can get a large, large dose of iron just given intravenously, and that will reconstitute your iron stores.
Conner: And when somebody is diagnosed with iron deficiency, it's not good enough then for them to just start eating a diet that's rich in iron. They need more of an intervention medically.
Dr. Rockey: Yeah. So, this is a really important issue. So, in many women, particularly women of childbearing age, iron deficiency is very, very common. And in those patients we generally take a watch and wait tact. So, a lot of times the physician will recommend simply repleting the iron either in the diet and sometimes by vein. However, in postmenopausal women who are not having babies, don't have menstrual periods, have no way to typically lose iron, and in men, the assumption is, is that there's blood loss somewhere, usually in the gastrointestinal tract. And therefore, in those patients, it is essential that their physician recognize the problem and refer the patient for evaluation. That's typically to a gastroenterologist who then would consider whether endoscopy, searching for a potential cause of bleeding can be identified.
Conner: Doctor Rockey, thanks for this information about iron deficiency.
Dr. Rockey: Bobbi. You're very welcome.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
