Brain P
S Afr Med J. 1982 May 1;61(18):669-71.
Male blood donors from three population groups (Indian, Black, White) who showed neither microcytosis nor levels of serum ferritin or transferrin saturation suggestive of iron deficiency were matched in 3's 1 from each population, for age, number of previous blood donations, and serum ferritin. Three groups of individuals of similar iron status were thus obtained, in whom mean serum iron and total iron-binding capacity as well as red cell indices were compared. The Indian group had smaller red corpuscles, and more of them, than either of the other groups; they also had significantly higher mean total iron-binding capacity. The Black group had a lower mean level of serum iron than the other two, coupled with a total iron-binding capacity greater than in the Whites but less than in the Indians; as a result, both the Indian and Black groups had a lower mean transferrin saturation than the White. The mean level of haemoglobin was significantly lower in the Black group than in the other two. It is unlikely that any of these differences is due to iron deficiency.
来自三个群体（印度人、黑人、白人）的男性献血者，既无小红细胞症，血清铁蛋白水平和转铁蛋白饱和度也未提示缺铁，按每组3人进行匹配，每组各1人来自一个群体，匹配因素包括年龄、既往献血次数和血清铁蛋白。这样就得到了三组铁状态相似的个体，对他们的平均血清铁、总铁结合力以及红细胞指数进行了比较。印度人群体的红细胞比其他两个群体的更小，但数量更多；他们的平均总铁结合力也显著更高。黑人组的平均血清铁水平低于其他两组，其总铁结合力大于白人组但小于印度人组；因此，印度人和黑人组的平均转铁蛋白饱和度均低于白人组。黑人组的血红蛋白平均水平显著低于其他两组。这些差异不太可能是由缺铁引起的。
