Abstract des Autors

The aim of the study was to evaluate ferritin determinations for assessing the iron status in 992 male and 351 female athletes, aged 16-32 years, representing various sports and to establish relationships between concentrations of ferritin, iron and of total iron binding capacity (TIBC) in states of iron deficiency. Plasma ferritin ranged from 6 to 540 ng/ml in men and from 5 to 196 ng/ml in women. In about 9% of male and 30% of female athletes, in whom decreased ferritin values were found (up to 20 ng/ml in men and up to 25 ng/ml in women), serum levels of iron and TIBC were additionally determined. In 26% of men and 38% of women with low ferritin levels a latent iron deficiency (Stage 2) was diagnosed. Ferritin was significantly correlated with serum iron (r=0.35; P<0.01) and TIBC (r=0.3; P<0.05), in men and women alike. The results obtained have confirmed the usefulness of ferritin determinations in detecting early iron deficiency. However, serum iron and TIBC are to be additionally determined for differentiating the prelatent phase of iron deficiency from the latent one. Verf.-Referat