Assessment of iron stores in old people.
Iron deficiency is the commonest cause of anaemia in the old. Anaemia is a useful indicator of morbidity, occurring much more frequently in individuals referred to hospital. Isolated serum iron estimations are often misleading. A study of 34 cases in whom serum iron, iron-binding capacity and bone marrow were examined showed that the percentage saturation of the binding capacity remains a good method of assessing iron stores.
D000368:Aged; D000747:Anemia, Hypochromic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D007501:Iron