Assessment of Iron Status Among Menstruating Female Students of Madonna University, Elele Campus, Rivers State

Background and Objective: Menstruation is a natural physiological process that causes regular blood loss and iron deficiency is a common concern among menstruating women due to the increased iron requirements to compensate for the loss. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of menstruation on iron status among female students attending Madonna University, Elele Campus, Rivers State. Materials and Methods: A total number of 60 students attending Madonna university Nigeria, Elele Campus were recruited for the study comprising of 30 menstruating students and 30 non menstruating students were used as control. As 5 mL of whole blood was collected from each subject by venipuncture from the antecubital vein and dispensed into a plain container. Serum iron and Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) were analyzed spectrophotometrically while serum ferritin and transferrin were analyzed using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Results: Serum iron (74.24±20.68 μg/dL) and serum ferritin (92.40±16.57) in female not on menstruation were significantly higher than serum iron (35.83±12.31 μg/dL) and serum ferritin (66.73±14.80) in female on menstruation (p<0.01) while total iron binding capacity (520.65±32.19 μg/dL) and transferrin (2.54±0.91) in female not on menstruation were significantly lower than total iron binding capacity (561.62±20.16 μg/dL) and transferrin (3.92±0.524) in female on menstruation (p<0.01). Conclusion: This finding concludes that menstruation has a great effect on iron status which may result in iron deficiency anemia, however, the study highlighted the resilience of the body’s iron metabolism during menstrual blood loss.