Iron deficiency in adolescent girls. Are athletes at increased risk?

Previous studies have indicated a high prevalence of nonanemic iron deficiency in female high school aged endurance athletes. It is not clear, however, whether these adolescents are at more risk for iron depletion than their nonathletic peers. We have previously reported declining serum ferritin levels in response to running but not swimming training in competitive adolescents. In this study we compared these findings with serum ferritin levels and hematologic parameters in a group of nonathletic females from the same community. Mean serum ferritin levels were not significantly different among the groups. A greater percentage of the swimmers and runners had ferritin levels less than 12 ng/ml at the beginning of the season (46.7 and 40%, respectively, compared to 26.7% in the nonathletes), but the differences were not statistically significant. These findings suggest that the high prevalence of hypoferritinemia at the beginning of a competitive season in female high school athletes is similar to that of nonathletes. Other studies have indicated, however, that some sports, particularly running, increase the incidence of iron depletion with training.