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Iron deficiency in men

We have always heard that iron deficiency is a problem of women but not in men. If a woman complained about being tired, with low energy, or if we see her pale, the first thing that comes to mind is whether she is iron deficient or not.

But what about men? Do men become iron deficient commonly or not?

This question is not that simple to answer. Based on the age, lifestyle, family history and many other factors a man may be in risk of iron deficiency like every other person. Yet they are at a lower risk for being iron deficient than women and infants. So the answer is yes! Men can be iron deficient too!

 

What are the causes of iron deficiency in men?

Men get iron deficient mostly because of the following causes:

1. Not having a nutrient-rich dietary plan. Read more about an iron rich diet and try some recipes here

 

2. Making wrong lifestyle choices

Men who smoke, do not exercise regularly or use alcohol often are at more risk for iron deficiency. Smoking, using opium drugs and alcohol cause low iron levels by causing inflammation in the body. Exercising helps your bones to be more active in making red blood cells. Therefore, it can prevent anaemia eventually.

 

3. Underlying diseases

Some of the underlying diseases are responsible for anaemia in men. These diseases may cause iron deficiency anaemia or result into other types of it, such as megaloblastic anaemia, anaemia of chronic diseases.

 

4. Drugs and medications

Men who are suffering from cancer, are under chemotherapy medication or immunosuppressive drugs are at more risk of being iron deficient.

 

5. Bleeding disorders

Bleeding disorder is an umbrella phrase for the diseases which cause bleeding in someone. These bleedings may be visible. In this cases one may experience chronic or acute bleedings from lips, nose, gums, or suffer from rectal bleeding. Some may find sudden bruising on their limbs. In some cases intra-articular bleedings, which is an emergency.

In others, the bleedings may be invisible. These types of bleedings are the ones which are the most important.

 

Let’s discuss the latter with a case study!

John is a 60 year old dentist. He is not retired yet and tries his best to have a healthy lifestyle.  He plays golf at the weekends, does not smoke and drinks alcohol once in a while. Lately, he feels less energetic during golf sessions. Last weekend, after a short time playing, he starts to feel lightheaded and dizzy.

One month later one of his friends who hadn’t been in town for a year, asked him to catch up as he was finally back. “Oh I think you look pale, hadn’t anybody else told you that?” his friend said. “Come on, I haven’t seen you for a year and this is your first impression?” John replied in a deeply angry and sad voice! His friend asked him to calm down. But John didn’t seem quite well. He couldn’t eat much and asked his friend to leave as he wanted to rest and get some sleep.

His friend, who was a doctor by the way, got worried. He asked John to meet him at the weekend again. He told John that he thinks it’s better for him to take a full blood count to be sure that nothing is going on with his health status. John accepted, but it was obvious that he is not happy with this.

So as he got his exam report, the missing piece of puzzle was found. He had a haemoglobin of 11, which is very low in a man of this age with a healthy lifestyle. So his doctor asked for an iron profile and as you can guess he had iron deficiency! But why would that be? He was a healthy man, no history of smoking, underlying diseases or family history. The reason for this was that he had an invisible bleeding from his digestive system. By losing blood he lost a lot of his iron reserves, which led to iron deficiency anaemia! At last, it was found out he was suffering from a colon cancer, which was causing all the bleeding. Now all of his symptoms were easy to explain. His tiredness, lightheadedness, being grumpy and the aforementioned low appetite.

In the above story we explained one the most important diseases threatening men over 50 years of old. Iron deficiency anaemia and its signs and symptoms are very important in men in this age range. Since they are a warning sign of an underlying disease, in most cases colon polyps or cancers.

It is very important in men at this age to check their blood count every year and have routine visits with their doctor to assess their health situation. A promising iron supplement would be a comfort whether a man is iron deficient seeking for a treatment or just want to prevent it. Irofix would be the best choice with the least side effects.