title: [Geophagy associated with severe anemia in non-pregnant women: A case series of 12 patients].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Geophagy or soil eating is mostly described in pregnant women from Sub-Saharan Africa, South America. Here, we report 12 cases of geophagy associated with severe anemia in non-pregnant Nigerian women.
  The median age at diagnosis was 34.5 years. The socioeconomic level was average for all patients. The median hemoglobin level at admission was 6.9g/dL (3.3-8.6), median corpuscular volume was 78.3fL (63-106) and median serum ferritin was 9.2ng/mL (3.6-11.2). The reasons of this practice were "desire" (5/12) and tradition (4/12). All patients received psychotherapy and supplementation with intravenous iron.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Geophagy is an underestimated practice in developed countries and in non-pregnant women. It can be the cause of severe iron deficiency and must be discussed in patients with anemia, including non-pregnant patients, and in Africa as well as in migration areas, where the practice can be exported.
authors.affiliation: Service de médecine interne, hôpital national de Niamey, BP 238, Niamey, Niger.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adehossi
authors.affiliation: Service d'onco-hématologie, hôpital national de Niamey, BP 238, Niamey, Niger.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Malam-Abdou
authors.affiliation: Service de médecine interne, hôpital national de Niamey, BP 238, Niamey, Niger.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andia
authors.affiliation: Service de médecine interne, hôpital national de Niamey, BP 238, Niamey, Niger.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Djibrilla
authors.affiliation: Service de médecine interne, hôpital national de Niamey, BP 238, Niamey, Niger.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sani Beydou
authors.affiliation: Service de médecine interne, hôpital national de Niamey, BP 238, Niamey, Niger.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brah
authors.affiliation: Service de médecine interne, hôpital national de Niamey, BP 238, Niamey, Niger.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Daou
authors.affiliation: Service de médecine interne, hôpital européen, 6, rue Désirée-Clary, 13003 Marseille, France. Electronic address: l.chiche@hopital-europeen.fr.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chiche
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D010842:Pica / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Africa; Afrique; Anemia; Anémie; Carence martiale; Femme non gravide; Geophagy; Géophagie; Iron deficiency; Non-pregnant women