The prevalence of iron deficent erythropoiesis and anaemia in a rural Jamaican community

ABSTRACT

Serum iron, iron binding capacity and transferrin saturation were measured in 389 predominantly Negro adults from an agricultural community in Jamaica. The relationships between iron measurements and several other red cell characteristics were investigated and the possible influence of common inhereted red cell defects was examined. Iron deficient erythropoiesis (transferrin saturation <15 percent) occurred in only a third of anaemic subjects. Values of total iron binding capacity were considerable lower than those found in a large random sample from Wales (Jacobs et al, 1969). These findings are considered in relation to the nutritional status of the population (Summary)