American Red Cross Blood Services, New England Region, Dedham, Massachusetts 02026, USA.
Transfusion. 2013 Aug;53(8):1645-52. doi: 10.1111/trf.12260. Epub 2013 Jun 13.
The association of blood donation-related iron deficiency with pica or restless legs syndrome (RLS) remains poorly elucidated. This study evaluated the prevalence of RLS and pica in blood donors completing the REDS-II Iron Status Evaluation (RISE) study.
RISE enrolled 2425 blood donors in a prospective cohort study; 1334 donors provided blood samples to characterize iron status and answered a questionnaire inquiring into symptoms of RLS and pica at a final visit after 15 to 24 months of follow-up. Associations between both conditions and iron status were evaluated.
There were 9 and 20% of donors reporting symptoms of probable or probable/possible RLS, respectively. Iron depletion and donation intensity were not predictive of RLS. Pica was reported by 65 donors (5.5%), half of whom reported daily cravings. Prevalence of pica increased with degree of iron depletion in women (2% in iron-replete females, 13% in those with ferritin < 12 ng/mL), but not in men. Probable RLS and pica coexpressed in eight individuals, but no more frequently than expected by chance.
RLS and pica have been associated with iron deficiency in nondonor populations. This study indicates a potentially high prevalence of RLS in frequent blood donors but shows no association with iron status or donation intensity. Low iron stores were associated with higher prevalence of pica, but only in females. Furthermore, the results are incompatible with RLS and pica sharing a common pathophysiology.
献血相关缺铁与异食癖或不宁腿综合征（RLS）之间的关联仍不清楚。本研究评估了完成 REDS-II 铁状态评估（RISE）研究的献血者中 RLS 和异食癖的患病率。
RISE 前瞻性队列研究纳入了 2425 名献血者；1334 名献血者提供了血液样本以确定铁状态，并在随访 15 至 24 个月后的最后一次就诊时回答了关于 RLS 和异食癖症状的问卷。评估了这两种情况与铁状态之间的关联。
分别有 9%和 20%的献血者报告了可能或可能/可能的 RLS 症状。铁耗竭和献血强度与 RLS 无关。有 65 名献血者（5.5%）报告有异食癖，其中一半人每天都有嗜食的冲动。女性中异食癖的患病率随着铁耗竭程度的增加而增加（铁充足的女性中为 2%，铁蛋白<12ng/mL 的女性中为 13%），但在男性中则不然。8 名个体同时报告了可能的 RLS 和异食癖，但这比预期的机会更频繁。
在非献血人群中，RLS 和异食癖与缺铁有关。本研究表明，频繁献血者中 RLS 的患病率可能较高，但与铁状态或献血强度无关。铁储存量低与异食癖的患病率增加有关，但仅在女性中。此外，结果与 RLS 和异食癖具有共同的病理生理学机制不相符。
