Affiliations 

  • 1 T. H. Goh, MBBS, FACS, MRCOG. Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Assunta Hospital Jalan Templer, 46990 Petaling Java, Selangor, Malaysia.
  • 2 M. Hariharan, MBBS, MPath. Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Med J Malaysia, 1986 Dec;41(4):300-4.
PMID: 3670151

Abstract

Serum ferritin and blood haemoglobin levels were studied in 229 women attending a family planning clinic. Ferritin values ranged from 2 to 438 Jlg/l and was skewed with an arithmetic mean of 41.8 and geometric mean of 23.4 flg/l; 26.6% were iron-deficient (ferritin < 12 Jlg/l). Haemoglobin values were normally distributed with a mean of 11. 7 g/dl but 59% were anaemic (Hb < 12 gjdl]. The correlation between ferritin and haemoglobin values was poor (r = 0.147) but almost all women with a haemoglobin below 10 g/dl were iron-deficient. This study reaffirms the need for monitoring iron-deficiency anaemia in apparently healthy women seeking contraception.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.