HAEMATOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND MENSTRUAL BLOOD LOSSES

Abstract

Summary In women of reproductive age in a Northumbrian mining village, there was a weak inverse relationship between the amount of blood lost at menstruation and various haematological indices. In those who had not recently taken iron medicines this relationship was more pronounced: the greater the loss, the lower the indices. Against expectation, however, this negative association was as strong at low as at high levels of menstrual loss. It is concluded that, within the range experienced in this community, the association between menstrual losses and haematological indices is not likely to be due to iron depletion.