Iron Absorption
Conditions
Keywords
Iron, Iron status, Iron deficiency, Iron deficiency anemia, Military, Exercise
Brief summary
Military personnel frequently experience declines in iron status during training and when in the field, which may compromise performance. The overall purpose of this study is to determine why the decline in iron status occurs and potential countermeasures. Participants will be given an acute dose of erythropoietin (EPO) or placebo and will complete a 90-minute load carriage exercise test. Prior to the main trial, this pilot study will determine the optimal approach to assess iron absorption following exercise (red blood cell incorporation or plasma isotope appearance), the percentage of iron incorporated into red blood cells with EPO compared to placebo, and the timing of the intervention.
Interventions
OTHERExercise test
90-minute load carriage exercise test on a treadmill
Sponsors
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Males and premenopausal females ages 18-45 years * Physically active
Exclusion criteria
* Low iron stores (ferritin \<15 mg/mL) * Anemia (females: hemoglobin \< 12 g/dL, males: hemoglobin \< 13 g/dL)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Fractional iron absorption | 14 days post-exercise | Iron absorption as measured by iron incorporation into red blood cells |
| Plasma isotope appearance | 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 360 minutes post-exercise | Plasma iron isotope appearance |
| Red blood cell iron incorporation | 50 minutes infusion of a stable iron isotope following exercise | The calculation to determine dietary iron absorption accounts for the fact that not all absorbed iron is incorporated into red blood cells. This can either be an assumed constant of 80% or experimentally determined by administering a second isotope intravenously. Pilot testing will be used to assess whether the investigators can use 80% or whether iron uptake by red blood cells is greater after EPO compared to placebo. |
| Timing of intervention | 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 30 days following EPO | Blood will be collected over time to ensure blood biomarkers return to baseline following EPO. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed