Iron insufficiency among young Australian women: a population-based survey.

Background: Although serum ferritin is considered a reliable indicator of iron stores, there are few data documenting the prevalence of low ferritin in representative samples of young women.

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of low ferritin and to identify factors associated with low ferritin in young Australian women.

Methods: Women, aged 18-39 years, living in the eastern states of Australia were recruited by email to a cross-sectional, online questionnaire-based study between November 2016 and July 2017. Participants not pregnant, breast feeding, taking hormonal contraception, using assisted reproduction or postmenopausal were invited to provide a blood sample.

Results: Of the 3689 invited participants, 761 (23.1%) provided a sample and 736 women, mean (SD) age 31.7 (±5.6) years, were included in the analyses. The overall prevalence of serum ferritin <30 μg/L was 34.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 31.4-38.3%), with 41.4% (35.1-48.0%) in NSW, 31.5% (26.4-37.1%) in Victoria and 32.6% (26.8-39.0%) in Queensland. Serum ferritin <30 μg/L was positively associated with the reporting of >2 days of heavy menstrual bleeding (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.73, 95% CI 1.15-2.59), living in New South Wales (AOR 1.57, 95% CI 1.07-2.30), not working outside home (AOR 1.58, 95% CI 1.01-2.49), and inversely associated with never experiencing heavy menses (AOR 0.46, 95% CI 0.23-0.93) and obesity (AOR 0.32, 95% CI 0.21-0.50).

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that serum ferritin below 30 μg/L is common amongst young Australian women. Healthcare professionals should note the association between low ferritin and heavy bleeding.