Serum Level Of Iron And Transferrin In Normal And Anemic Pregnant Women

Iron deficiency anemia is a major health problem in our country especially in pregnancy. For accurate diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia we require accurate indicators based on which treatment can be given. Purpose of this study is to prevent unnecessary iron overload by accurate diagnosis in pregnancy as excessive iron can lead to oxidative damage. Method: Serum level of Iron and transferrin and total iron binding capacity and % saturation of transferrin were estimated in 70 women in their I, II and III trimester of pregnancy. Only healthy subjects (without infective, metabolic, and degenerative disease) on clinical examination were selected. The women were divided into three groups according to their hemoglobin level in normal, mild anemic and moderate to severe anemia. Result: In normal group serum iron levels were within normal range in all trimester, whereas in anemic groups serum iron level were lower. Serum transferrin level was raised in III trimester in all the groups and also raised in I and II trimester in severe anemic group. TIBC was increased with decreased in serum iron level. % saturation of transferrin was lowered with lowered hemoglobin level. Conclusion: Our study shows iron level can be well correlated with haemoglobin level but transferrin level cannot be well correlated. But % of transferrin saturation can be a better indicator then transferrin