Iron deficiency anemia, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2002-2011.

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common cause of anemia in the United States, and it particularly affects women of child-bearing age and black, non-Hispanic race/ethnicity. During the surveillance period there were 10,157 incident ("new") cases of IDA among active component service members; the overall incidence rate was 7.1 per 10,000 person-years. The annual incidence rates increased in both males and females during the period. Rates of IDA were higher among service members who were female, in the youngest (<20 years) and oldest age groups (40+ years), and of black, non-Hispanic race/ethnicity. Most (85.3%) incident cases had no additional encounters for IDA one year or more after their incident encounter. The most common diagnoses associated with IDA during the one year before or after the incidence dates of IDA were "gastrointestinal hemorrhage" (12.4%) in males and "disorders of menstruation and other abnormal bleeding from the female genital tract" (15.2%) in females. Because IDA can adversely affect physical work capacity and cognitive functioning, health care providers should be alert to IDA among service members, particularly servicewomen, before intensive training activities and deployment.