Anemia - Causes

Erythrocytes are red blood cells that contain hemoglobin. They are responsible for the delivery of oxygen from the lungs to all organs. Anemia or anemia is a condition in which either the number of red blood cells in the blood decreases or these cells contain less than the normal amount of hemoglobin.

Anemia is always secondary, that is, it is a symptom of some common disease.

Causes of anemia

There are many reasons for this state, but the most common ones are:

  1. Decrease in the production of red blood cells by the bone marrow. As a rule, it is observed with oncological diseases, chronic infections, kidney diseases, endocrine diseases, protein exhaustion.
  2. Deficiency in the body of certain substances, primarily - iron, as well as vitamin B12 , folic acid. Sometimes, especially in childhood and adolescence, anemia can be triggered by a lack of vitamin C.
  3. Destruction (hemolysis) or shortening the life span of red blood cells. It can be observed with diseases of the spleen, hormonal disorders.
  4. Acute or chronic bleeding.

Classification of anemia

  1. Iron-deficiency anemia. This type of anemia is associated with a deficiency in the body of iron, and is most often observed with blood loss, in women with heavy menstruation, in people who adhere to a strict diet, with gastric or duodenal ulcer, stomach cancer.
  2. Pernicious anemia. Another type of deficiency anemia, associated with a deficiency in the body of vitamin B12, due to its poor digestibility.
  3. Aplastic anemia. Occurs in the absence or lack of tissue that produces erythrocytes in the bone marrow. Most often it is manifested in cancer patients, due to irradiation, but can also be caused by other (eg, chemical) exposure.
  4. Sickle-cell anemia is a hereditary disease in which erythrocytes have an irregular (crescent shape).
  5. Congenital spherocytic anemia. Another hereditary disease in which erythrocytes are irregular (spherical instead of biconcave) form and are quickly destroyed by the spleen. For this type of disease characterized by an increase in the spleen, the development of jaundice, and it can also provoke problems with the kidneys.
  6. Medicinal anemia. It arises because of the reaction of the body to any drug: it can be provoked by certain types of sulfonamides and even aspirin (with increased sensitivity to the drug).

Degrees of severity of anemia

Anemia is divided according to the degrees of severity, depending on how much the hemoglobin content in the blood is reduced (at the rate of gram / liter). Normal indicators are: in men from 140 to 160, in women from 120 to 150. In children, this indicator depends on age and can fluctuate significantly. Reducing the level of hemoglobin below 120 g / l gives reason to talk about anemia.

  1. Light form - the level of hemoglobin in the blood is below normal, but not less than 90 g / l.
  2. The average form is hemoglobin level of 90-70 g / l.
  3. Severe form - the level of hemoglobin in the blood below 70 g / l.

In mild cases of anemia, clinical symptoms may be absent: the body's need for oxygen is provided by activating the functions of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, increasing the production of erythrocytes. In more severe cases, there is pallor of the skin, increased fatigue, dizziness. In severe cases, fainting, jaundice development, and the appearance of ulcers on mucous membranes are possible.

Doctors diagnose anemia and prescribe medication on the basis of laboratory tests.