[Iron deficiency anemia].

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is defined as a disease of the reduced erythrocyte production with low content of hemoglobin, because of the lack of iron which is the most important constituent of hemoglobin. The main cause of the deficiency is blood loss including the mensturation and hemorrhage. The frequency of IDA is as high as 9.1% among 10 to 19 years cohort of apparently healthy women in metropolitan area of Japan. The pathophysiology of the deficiency, clinical features, laboratory findings, diagnosis and treatment are discussed as well as the basic findings of iron absorption mechanism in which the newly found factors such as DMT-1 and hepcidin are involved.