First-Trimester Iron Screening Can ID Women at Risk for Later Deficiency
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 2, 2024 -- Screening pregnant women during their first trimester with a target ferritin concentration of >60 μg/L may identify those at risk for iron deficiency later in pregnancy, according to a study published online Sept. 26 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Elaine K. McCarthy, Ph.D., from University College Cork in Ireland, and colleagues evaluated the longitudinal changes in iron biomarkers across pregnancy and the prevalence of iron deficiency in primiparous women. The analysis included 629 individuals with low-risk, singleton pregnancies with iron measurements taken at three points.
The researchers found that the prevalence of iron deficiency (ferritin <15 μg/L) increased throughout pregnancy, from 4.5 percent at 15 weeks of gestation and 13.7 percent at 20 weeks to 51.2 percent at 33 weeks. With a threshold of <30 μg/L for ferritin, rates of deficiency were 20.7, 43.7, and 83.8 percent across the three time points, respectively. A similar prevalence of deficiency was seen using soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) measures of >4.4 mg/L or ferritin <15 μg/L (7.2, 12.6, and 60.9 percent, respectively). Rates were lower using total body iron <0 mg/kg than using ferritin or sTfR. Ferritin <60 μg/L emerged as the ferritin threshold at 15 weeks that predicted iron deficiency (ferritin <15 μg/L) at 33 weeks (area under the curve, 0.750). There was a reduction in risk for deficiency throughout pregnancy with use of iron-containing supplements (mainly multivitamins) taken in prepregnancy/early pregnancy (odds ratio, 0.57).
"Pregnancy places a remarkable strain on maternal iron status even in a high-resource, generally iron-supplemented population," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted October 2024
Read this next
USPSTF Continues to Recommend Syphilis Screening Early in Pregnancy
TUESDAY, May 13, 2025 -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening for syphilis during pregnancy. This recommendation forms the basis of a final...
Weight Gain, Late First Pregnancy Combo Increases Breast Cancer Risk
MONDAY, May 12, 2025 -- Weight gain combined with late first pregnancy (FP) or nulliparity is associated with an increased risk for breast cancer (BC), according to a study...
Pregnancy Checkbox on Death Certificates Tied to Increase in Reported Rates of Maternal Mortality
WEDNESDAY, May 7, 2025 -- Maternal deaths increased between 2000 and 2019, with much of the increase attributable to introduction of the pregnancy checkbox on death certificates...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.