Iron Status in Adolescents with Eating Disorder: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Eating disorders are major mental disorders that affect all aspects of life, including quality of life at home or workplace, personal functions, and social life. Malnutrition, particularly iron deficiency, can result from a lack of food intake caused by eating disorders.

Aim: This study aimed to determine the impact of eating disorders in adolescents on hematological alterations and iron serum indexes.

Method: The study was conducted by doing online database searches systematically using relevant search terms and appropriate criteria. Sources of literature that were traced were those published until 2022. The online searches were conducted on the following databases: MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, Scielo, and DynaMed Plus.

Results: Searching by keyword yielded 55 titles and abstracts. When they were screened, a total of 41 publications were saved for further analysis. However, only 8 publications met the inclusion criteria and were continued for review (two studies that used a cross-sectional design, one case-control study, and five cohort studies).

Conclusion: Iron deficiency and anemia were uncommon in young women who had eating disorders and weight loss. However, there was a rise in serum ferritin and serum hepcidin, as well as a decrease in transferrin, based on evaluations using biomarkers that were more sensitive for the detection of adolescent anorexia nervosa. In participants who gained weight after receiving nutritional therapy, transferrin levels increased whereas ferritin and hepcidin levels declined (rapid depletion).