cause and incidence of IDA, CAM of Coeliac disease

Cause of IDA

Iron deficiency anemia causes include:

• Blood loss. Blood contains iron within red blood cells. If you lose blood, you lose some iron. Women with heavy periods are at risk of iron deficiency anemia because they lose a lot of blood during menstruation. Slow, chronic blood loss from a source within the body — such as a peptic ulcer, a kidney or bladder tumor, a colon polyp, colorectal cancer, or uterine fibroids — can cause iron deficiency anemia. Gastrointestinal bleeding can result from regular use of aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). While not common in the United States, hookworm infestation can cause blood loss.Blood lost from within the body may show up in your urine or stools, producing black or bloody stools. Inform your doctor if you notice blood in your urine or stools.
  

• A lack of iron in your diet. Your body regularly gets iron from the foods you eat. If you consume too little iron, over time your body can become iron deficient. Examples of iron-rich foods include meat, eggs, dairy products or iron-fortified foods. For proper growth and development, infants and children need iron from their diet, too.

• An inability to absorb iron. Iron from food is absorbed into your bloodstream in your small intestine. An intestinal disorder, such as Crohn's disease or celiac disease, which affects your intestine's ability to absorb nutrients from digested food, can lead to iron deficiency anemia. If part of your small intestine has been bypassed or removed surgically, that may affect your ability to absorb iron and other nutrients. Some medications can interfere with iron absorption. For example, regular use of prescription-strength stomach acid blockers called proton pump inhibitors may lead to iron deficiency anemia, although this is unusual. Your body needs stomach acid, which these products suppress, to convert dietary iron into a form that can readily be absorbed by the small intestine.

• Pregnancy. Without iron supplementation, iron deficiency anemia occurs in many pregnant women because their iron stores need to serve their own increased blood volume as well as be a source of hemoglobin for the growing fetus. A fetus needs iron to develop red blood cells, blood vessels and muscle.

Incidence

High-risk groups include:

Women of child-bearing age who have blood loss through menstruation
Pregnant or lactating women who have an increased requirement for iron
Infants, children, and adolescents in rapid growth phases
People with a poor dietary intake of iron

Complementary medicine for coeliac disease

Calcium (for deficiency only)

Enzymes

Folic acid (for deficiency only)

Iron (for deficiency only)

Magnesium (for deficiency only)

Multivitamin-mineral

Vitamin A (for deficiency only)

Vitamin D (for deficiency only)

Vitamin K (for deficiency only)

Zinc (for deficiency only)

Lipase

Vitamin B6 (for depression unresponsive to a gluten-free diet)

Contributed by Lawrence Oh