Current screening guidelines may not be adequate to identify iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in adolescent and young adults. Adolescent and young adult outpatients from 4 hospital-based clinics (N = 493) reported on diet, health, and bleeding, and had phlebotomy for iron and hematologic tests. We examined sex-specific factors associated with ID and IDA and ability of universal and risk factor-based screening using hemoglobin and hemoglobin plus ferritin to detect ID and IDA. Among females (n = 350), 34.6% had ID and 6.3% had IDA. Nearly 1 in 3 females with ID had no risk factors. Among males, 12.6% had ID; none had IDA. More than 1 in 3 males with ID did not have risk factors. Current screening approaches would have missed ID in 47% to 82% of females and 95% to 100% of males. ID was prevalent in both male and female adolescents and young adult outpatients. New approaches to screening for ID are needed to accurately evaluate iron status in this population.
Keywords: adolescent; anemia; iron deficiency; primary care.