Sports anemia: A review of the literature

Sports anemia has been referred to as an anemic or borderline anemic state in physically active individuals, particularly athletes. This paper is a review of literature on sports anemia, including whom it may affect and its effect on performance, and its diagnosis. In general, sports anemia has been found to be a self-limiting condition and usually does not require treatment. A condition referred to as athletes ’ or sports anemia14,31,39 has been observed in apparently healthy athletes with ane-mia or low-normal hematologic values (red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit). It has been observed in athletes ranging from previously sedentary individuals beginning a running program26,30 to fit individuals performing daily sub-maximal exercise31 to individuals participating in prolonge