Why do women have similar erythropoietin levels to men but lower hemoglobin levels?
Abstract
To the editor: Mean red cell mass and hematocrit levels are higher in men than women. How or why this is the case has never been explained. If decreased erythropoiesis due to iron loss or blood loss in females or increased erythropoiesis due to androgens in males were causative, there would be a
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Iron deficiency anemia and iron deficiency are five to seven times more common in female athletes as compared to males.
“Iron deficiency anemia and iron deficiency are five to seven times more common in female athletes as compared to males [316].”
From International society of sports nutrition position stand: nutritional concerns of the female athlete (2023) · cites this paper as [316]
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- Authors
- Murphy, W. G., Tong, E., & Murphy, C.
- Affiliations
- University College Dublin (IE)
- Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin (IE)
- Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IE)
- Venue
- Blood
- Publisher
- American Society of Hematology
- Published
- 2010-10-14
- Volume
- 116
- Issue
- 15
- Pages
- 2861-2862
- ISSN
- 0006-4971 (ISSN-L)
- 1528-0020
- OpenAlex
- W1981439679
- Cited by
- 40
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 0.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Blood (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Erythropoietin and Anemia Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Iron Metabolism and Disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Genetics › Hemoglobinopathies and Related Disorders
- Keywords
- erythropoietin, hemoglobin, sex differences, sex hormones, androgens, erythropoiesis, red cell mass, hematocrit, iron loss, blood loss
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Capillaries, Erythropoietin, Female, Hemoglobins, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Sex Characteristics, Veins, Young Adult
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