Work performance in iron deficiency of increasing severity.

The effect of iron deficiency on work capacity was studied in groups of rats that had received diets with iron contents ranging between 9 and 50 mg/kg diet from 3 to 6 wk of age. Maximal O2 consumption (VO2max) declined only 16% with a decrease in hemoglobin (Hb) from 14 to 8 g/dl and fell sharply only below a Hb of 7 g/dl. Duration until exhaustion in a treadmill exercise of submaximal intensity (endurance) showed no significant depression between a Hb of 14 and 10 g/dl. However, endurance declined abruptly by 73% between a Hb of 10 and 8 g/dl. The VO2max results are in accord with known compensatory mechanisms that help to maintain delivery of O2 to tissues until anemia becomes severe. The sharp fall in endurance with relatively mild iron deficiency suggests a lack of similarly effective compensations for decreased oxidative capacity of muscle.