Body Fat Percentage and Blood Donation are the Strongest Determinants of Iron Stores in Premenopausal Women Joining the New Zealand Army

ABSTRACT Introduction Suboptimal iron status is an issue for women joining the military because of its association with impaired aerobic performance, yet no studies have investigated dietary and non-dietary determinants of iron status simultaneously in this population. The purpose of this study was...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Military medicine 2023-07, Vol.188 (7-8), p.e2550-e2556
Main Authors: Martin, Nicola M, von Hurst, Pamela R, Conlon, Cathryn A, Smeele, Rebecca J M, Mugridge, Owen A R, Beck, Kathryn L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Blood & organ donations
Body fat
Exercise
Iron
Womens health
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Summary:ABSTRACT Introduction Suboptimal iron status is an issue for women joining the military because of its association with impaired aerobic performance, yet no studies have investigated dietary and non-dietary determinants of iron status simultaneously in this population. The purpose of this study was to explore associations between iron stores, dietary patterns (DPs), and potential non-dietary determinants of iron status in premenopausal women at the commencement of basic military training (BMT) in the New Zealand Army. Methods During week 1 of BMT, demographic, body composition, lifestyle, medical history, and dietary data were measured as potential determinants of serum ferritin (SF) in 101 participants. Following univariate analysis, age, body fat percentage, previous blood donation, at least 6 h of exercise per week that raised the heart rate, and a vegetarian DP were analyzed using a multiple linear regression model. Results An increase in body fat percentage was associated with increased SF (P 
ISSN:0026-4075
1930-613X
1930-613X
DOI:10.1093/milmed/usad023