Body iron stores in Thai women of reproductive age.

Body iron stores is sensitively indicated to iron status. Since iron status strongly affects to iron absorption, body iron stores is a factor of estimating the dietary iron absorption method as proposed by Monsen. This study aimed to determine body iron stores in Thai women of reproductive age, which is one of the iron deficiency risk groups. The serum ferritin levels of 115 normal iron status (serum ferritin > or = 12 ng/ml) women aged between 18-45 years were included in the body iron stores calculation by Cook's method. The result showed that the mean body iron stores of the women was 292.78 mg. This finding was consistent with previous reports that the values were in the range of 200-400 mg in the women. The mean body iron stores were of 309 mg and nearly 300 mg in American and Australian women, respectively. The values were less than the recommended amount of 500 mg in adult women. Only 3 per cent of the Thai women in the present study met the recommended amount. So, as in American and Swedish women, less than 5 per cent of them reached the storage iron of 500 mg.

Iron bioavailability in Thai diets.

Dietary low iron bioavailability intake is an important causation factor of iron deficiency anemia in Asian countries including Thailand. The aim of this study was to estimate the iron bioavailability in the Thai diet by a calculation method that is based on dependent factors, dietary components and physiological iron store. Based on the the latest national nutrition survey of the Thai diet, 1995, the data of nutrient intake per capita per day by region were used for calculating the iron bioavailability at physiological iron store levels; 0, 250, 500 and 1,000 mg of iron. The results showed that the diets consumed by the populations in the Central, North, Northeast and South of Thailand were classified under the calculation method as being of moderate nonheme iron availability. The per cent iron bioavailability values of the Thai diets were within the range 3.7-12.4 per cent of total iron, depending on physiological iron store. The values of all region Thai diets at each iron store level were similar. By the same method, the dietary iron bioavailability of the total Thai diet at any iron store level was markedly lower than the general US diet, which was classified as high nonheme iron availability. When comparison of the iron bioavailability among other different diets was carried out, the values of the total Thai diet were slightly lower than Utah, but higher than US vegetarian and Regional Latin American diets.