What can cause anaemia

Common causes of anemia include:

• Nutritional Deficiencies:
  • Iron deficiency: The most common cause, often due to insufficient dietary iron intake, poor absorption, or chronic blood loss.
  • Vitamin B12 deficiency: Essential for red blood cell formation; can be caused by inadequate intake (e.g., in vegans), malabsorption (e.g., pernicious anemia), or certain medications.
  • Folate (folic acid) deficiency: Also crucial for red blood cell production; can result from poor diet, malabsorption, or increased demand (e.g., pregnancy).
• Blood Loss:
  • Acute blood loss: From trauma, surgery, or severe bleeding.
  • Chronic blood loss: Often subtle and prolonged, such as from gastrointestinal bleeding (ulcers, polyps, cancer), heavy menstrual periods, or frequent blood donations.
• Chronic Diseases:
  • Anemia of chronic disease (ACD): Associated with inflammatory conditions (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease), infections, kidney disease, and cancer, where the body's inflammatory response interferes with red blood cell production and iron utilization.
  • Kidney disease: Impaired kidney function can lead to decreased production of erythropoietin, a hormone that stimulates red blood cell production.
• Genetic Disorders:
  • Sickle cell anemia: An inherited disorder where red blood cells become crescent-shaped, leading to premature destruction and blockages.
  • Thalassemia: Inherited disorders that cause the body to make an abnormal form of hemoglobin, resulting in excessive destruction of red blood cells.
• Bone Marrow Problems:
  • Aplastic anemia: A rare but serious condition where the bone marrow stops producing enough new blood cells, including red blood cells.
  • Leukemia and other bone marrow cancers: Can interfere with the production of healthy red blood cells.
• Destruction of Red Blood Cells (Hemolytic Anemia):
  • Red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be produced, which can be due to autoimmune diseases, infections, certain medications, or inherited conditions.