The Prevalence of Obesity and Iron Status in Post-menopausal Women Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital

The present study was conducted with the aim of finding association between obesity and impaired iron status among the post-menopausal women attending a tertiary care hospital of coastal Karnataka. 100 post-menopausal women attending the out-patient department and women admitted in wards of KSHEMA over a period of 2 months were interviewed. Detailed history was collected including socio-demographic variables, obstetrical and gynaecological history, personal and past history. Anthropometric measurements were recorded and serum iron, ferritin values were recorded from case records and laboratory examinations. According to the serum iron values, among 24 subjects who were overweight; only 15 had decreased iron level (62.5%) and 7 has iron deficiency (29.2%); and among the 20 subjects who were obese, only 7 had decreased iron stores (35%) and 7 had iron deficiency (35%). A significant association between obesity and iron deficiency. This study established the association between serum iron and obesity.