Table 1.
Clinical and biochemical features of the “test-positive” patients compared with “test-negative” patients
| Patients, n = 115 | Test-positive n = 52(45.2%) | Test-negative n = 63(54.8%) | P |
| Age (yr) | 38 (23-50) | 37.5 (21-50) | NS |
| Duration of Anemia (mo) | 12 (1-408) | 12 (1-312) | NS |
| Hb (g/dL) | 10.6 (7.3-11.9) | 10.9 (8-11.9) | NS |
| MCV (fl) | 71 (51-90) | 74 (58-92) | NS |
| Iron (μg/dL) | 22 (6-65) | 24.5 (9-52) | NS |
| Ferritin (μg/L) | 10 (1-31) | 10 (2-59) | NS |
| Smokers | 10 (19%) | 10 (16%) | NS |
| Previous therapy with iron | 22 (41.5%) | 26 (41.9%) | NS |
| Previous blood transfusion | 2 (3.8%) | 1 (1.8%) | NS |
| Previous therapy with vitamin B12 | 5 (9.4%) | 9 (14.5%) | NS |
| Previous therapy with folic acid | 18 (34%) | 20 (32.2%) | NS |
| Hospitalization for anemia | 3 (5.7%) | 5 (9.4%) | NS |
| Upper GI symptoms | 26 (49%) | 31 (50%) | NS |
| Lower GI symptoms | 29 (54.7%) | 37 (59.7%) | NS |
| Premenopausal status | 49 (94.2%) | 56 (88.9%) | NS |
Hb: Hemoglobin; MCV: Median corpuscular volume; GI: Gastrointestinal; NS: Not significant. All values are reported as median (range) unless otherwise indicated.