Iron Deficiency Day (26 November) unites a strong international coalition raising awareness on the serious health impact of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia¹

This year, the focus is on importance of early diagnosis and treatment in chronic heart failure patients

For the eighth consecutive year, CSL Vifor is supporting a growing alliance of international organizations including the Heart Failure Policy Network, European Kidney Health Alliance, Global Heart Hub and Croí the West of Ireland Cardiac Foundation to advocate people at risk to listen to their body, to take iron seriously and to take control over their health by seeking early diagnosis and medical help from their physician.

“We are pleased to join our patients, healthcare professionals and partners in supporting Iron Deficiency Day 2022, a call for people around the world to get informed and to understand what can happen when iron levels are not properly managed,” said Hervé Gisserot, General Manager of CSL Vifor. “We are dedicated to building awareness of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia, to help patients understand their symptoms, improve access and ultimately receive appropriate treatment.” 

Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia affect one in every two chronic heart failure patients ^2,3 and is associated with reduced quality of life⁴, reduced exercise capacity and increased risk of hospitalization⁵. Despite the serious consequences and high prevalence of iron deficiency, the condition remains under-recognized⁶. 

The importance of iron for the health of heart failure patients was recently highlighted in the new whitepaper “Heart Failure, an inconvenient truth” which advocates for an extension of current heart failure management strategies to include and increasingly focus on improving quality of life. This includes early diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency. 

“Iron deficiency is a highly prevalent and serious condition among heart failure patients and has a significant impact on their quality of life,”, said Steven Macari, President of AVEC France and co-author of Heart Failure, an inconvenient truth. “It is easily diagnosed and treatable, yet many primary care professionals often overlook symptoms of iron deficiency like fatigue and breathlessness as expected comorbidities of heart failure, and it is often the proactive empowered patient who informs and suggests to be tested. It is therefore vital that we inform practitioners around the importance of diagnosing and treating iron deficiency in patients at risk, and that patient organizations inform their members.”

To learn more about the importance of early diagnosis and recognizing symptoms of iron deficiency, visit www.takeironseriously.com/check-your-symptoms. Use hashtags #TakeIronSeriously and #IDDay2022 on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Iron Deficiency Day is endorsed by multiple international organizations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Romania, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Russia and for the first time in Slovakia.

About “Heart Failure, an inconvenient truth”

The whitepaper “Heart Failure, an inconvenient truth” is based on a pan-European survey among more than 600 heart failure patients and has been developed together with Pumping Marvellous (UK), AVEC (FR), Herzschwäche Deutschland (DE), The Patients Voice (NL), and Vintura. The aim of the paper, which was funded by CSL Vifor, is to advocate for a better quality of life in heart failure. It can be downloaded here: (https://www.viforpharma.com/sites/vifor-corp/files/White%20paper%20_heart%20failure_V10.2_Digital.pdf)

About iron deficiency

Iron plays a vital role in many bodily processes, including the production of red blood cells, effective heart and brain function, and the prevention of infection and illness. Without enough iron, the body is unable to function properly. Common symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, and shortness of breath. Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia is estimated to affect one in three people worldwide⁷, yet despite the serious consequences and high prevalence⁸, it remains an under-recognized condition.

Although iron deficiency can affect anyone, it is most prevalent in premenopausal women, pregnant woman and children under five⁹. Left untreated, it can develop into iron deficiency anemia. The effects of iron deficiency differ from person to person but can be linked to an overall decline in general health and well-being¹⁰. Even without anemia, iron deficiency can be debilitating, exacerbate an underlying chronic disease and lead to increased morbidity and mortality¹⁰. Common symptoms include fatigue^{10, 12, 13} pale skin¹², brittle nails^{12, 14}, craving non-food items such as dirt, clay and ice¹⁵, and an inability to concentrate^{10, 16}. In children, iron deficiency can significantly impair cognitive and motor development¹⁷. 

The World Health Organization has published new guidelines to help the detection of iron deficiency and iron overload. These guidelines provide global, evidence-informed recommendations on the use of indicators for assessing iron status and application of the use of ferritin concentrations, an indicator of iron storage. Find more here: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240000124

References 

1. Hassan, Tamer Hasan et al. “Impact of Iron Deficiency Anemia on the Function of the Immune System in Children.” Ed. Esaki M. Shankar. Medicine 95.47 (2016): e5395. PMC. Web. 12 June 2018.
2. Ebner N, von Haehling S. Iron deficiency in heart failure: a practical guide. Nutrients. 2013;5(9):3730-9. doi:10.3390/nu5093730.
3. Klip IT, Comin-Colet J, Voors A a, et al. Iron deficiency in chronic heart failure: an international pooled analysis. Am Heart J. 2013;165(4):575-582.e3. doi:10.1016/j.ahj.2013.01.017.
4. Guedes M NDT 2021. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfab050; Enjuanes C, et al. Int J Cardiol. 2014;174(2):268–275.
5. Guedes et al. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2021 Aug;32(8):2020-2030, Martens P, et al. Acta Cardiol. 2018;73(2):115–123.
6. Eur J Heart Fail. 2021 Sep 3. doi: 10.1002/ejhf.2338.
7. Peyrin-Biroulet L, et al. Guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency across indications: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;102(6):1585-94.
8. World Health Organization. Worldwide prevalence of anaemia 1993-2005. 2008. Available at URL: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/43894/9789241596657_eng.pdf;jsessionid=9C613E2F4D481EDEB9DE07986AFC E0C7?sequence=1. Last accessed: June 2018.
9. Hercberg S, et al. Iron deficiency in Europe. Public Health Nutr. 2007;4(2b).
10. Fernando B, et al. A guide to diagnosis of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in digestive diseases. World J Gastroenterol. 2009 Oct 7; 15(37): 4638-4643.
11. Cappellini MD et al. Iron deficiency across chronic inflammatory conditions: International expert opinion on definition, diagnosis, and management. Am J Hematol. 2017 Oct;92(10):1068-1078.
12. Auerbach M, Adamson JW. How we diagnose and treat iron deficiency anemia. Am J Hematol. 2016;91(1):31-38.
13. Favrat, B., et al. (2014). Evaluation of a single dose of ferric carboxymaltose in fatigued, iron-deficient women–PREFER a randomized, placebo-controlled study. PLoS One 9(4): e94217. eCollection 2014.
14. Cashman MW, Sloan SB. Nutrition and nail disease. Clin Dermatol. 2010;28(4):420-5. 
15. Barton JC, et al. Pica associated with iron deficiency or depletion: clinical and laboratory correlates in 262 non-pregnant adult outpatients. BMC Blood Disord. 2010;10:9. doi:10.1186/1471-2326-10-9.
16. Patterson A et al. Iron deficiency, general health and fatigue: Results from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. Qual Life Res. 2000;9:491-497. 
17. World Health Organization. Nutritional anaemias: tools for effective prevention and control. 2017. Available at URL: http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/micronutrients/anaemias-tools-prevention-control/en/. Last accessed: June 2018.