1992 Volume 9 Pages 157-162
Anemia is a common blood disorder among female athletes, but the mechanism of its development is still unclear. We found selective iron deficiency anemia in a female long-distance runner during a period in which we were providing medical support for her.
We evaluated changes in her athletic performance and the background of her conditioning in relation to changes in the blood profile over the past 6 years. In this case, no evidence of hemoglobin deficiency was observed. We found a highly significant negative correlation between the running period (6 years) and iron concentrations (r=0.616, p<0.001).
Her serum iron level decreased 75 μg/ dl over a period of 6 years at a monthly rate of 1.0 μg/ dl. Progression of selective iron deficiency with relative stability of the hemoglobin level (13±0.6 g/dl) is considered to have been a cause of her poor performance in 1991.
