Many women wonder about the causes of anemia. This is a problem that affects millions of people and there are a lot of different causes that could lead to it.

In some cases these causes come from the environment while in other cases the problem is an internal one.

Active bleeding as one of the anemia causes

One of the causes that could lead to this problem is an active bleeding, such as heavy menstrual bleeding or different wounds. It is also possible to lose blood because of an ulcer or some kind of cancer such as cancer of the colon. These ooze blood more slowly but they could still lead to anemia.

Iron deficiency

Causes-of-AnemiaWhen looking for the sources of anemia you should also consider the fact that the bone marrow needs iron in order to produce red blood cells.

Iron is important for the right construction of the hemoglobin molecule. If a person doesn’t have enough iron through his or her diet, a problem could arise.

Another one of the causes of anemia could also be an ulcer or some other problem that leads to slow bleeding. In this case the iron is lost from the body because of the constant and slow blood loss. Naturally more severe bleeding brings the same result.

Chronic disease

It is also possible to have some long-term chronic disease that becomes one of the anemia sources.

The truth is that the specialists don’t know the exact mechanism of this source yet. Still it is known that a long-term disease like cancer or chronic infection can cause anemia.

Kidney disease

When asking about causes of anemia you should know that the kidneys produce a hormone known as erythropoietin that has a role to play in blood production. The people who have chronic kidney disease don’t have enough of this hormone and so they have less red blood cells, leading to anemia.

Pregnancy

One of the factors of anemia that the majority of women get in contact with during their lives is pregnancy. This is because during this time their bodies retain water, diluting their blood. This way the concentration of the red blood cells drop and the problem arises.

Poor nutrition

It is a known fact regarding the causes of anemia that there is need for minerals and vitamins in order to produce red blood cells. In the production of hemoglobin folate, vitamin B12 and iron all have a role to play. If there is a deficiency of any of these, it is possible to be faced with anemia.

One of the anemia factors is having a low vitamin B 12 and folate intake, and the major cause of this is poor nutrition. Vegetarian people usually have a deficiency and they are also at risk of having a vitamin B12 deficiency that leads to having low red blood cells, which in turn leads to anemia.

As you can see there are a lot of different causes of anemia.