Iron Deficiency in Collegiate Athletes Obtaining Preparticipation Hemoglobinopathy Screening in the Upper Midwest.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Retrospective multicenter chart review and cross-sectional database analysis
PubMed 39529284 · doi:10.1002/pbc.31437
What was done
A multicenter retrospective chart review examined outpatient clinic records in an Upper Midwest healthcare system (January 2012 to December 2023) alongside public data from NHANES (2017 to March 2020). Ferritin concentrations were evaluated in collegiate athletes aged 16–21 years undergoing preparticipation sport evaluations and compared to active individuals of the same age range in NHANES.
What was found
Among 643 unique individuals aged 16–21 identified in the regional system, 253 underwent ferritin screening. In this screened collegiate athlete cohort, 24.5% had iron deficiency (ferritin <20 mcg/L) and 66.7% had hypoferritinemia (ferritin <50 mcg/L). In the active NHANES comparison cohort aged 16–21 years, 12.7% had iron deficiency.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that low iron stores and iron deficiency are frequent among collegiate athletes, which may support adding ferritin testing to routine preparticipation sports physicals.
Limits
Only 253 of the 643 athletes (39.3%) received ferritin screening, introducing substantial risk of indication or selection bias. The regional athlete cohort is retrospective and geographically restricted. The abstract lacks the total sample size for the NHANES comparison group, sex-stratified breakdowns, and clinical or performance outcome measures.
Cited by
- supports Low iron or ferritin levels occur in more than 30% of physically active individuals.