Table 2.
Prevalence of iron deficiency based on individual ferritin levels below the group-specific reference range
| Time after surgery (months) | Men | Women premenopausal | Women postmenopausal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Def. (%) | n | Def. (%) | n | Def. (%) | n | |
| 0 | 0 | 35 | 1.4 | 73 | 9.1 | 33 |
| 6 | 0 | 31 | 9.1 | 44 | 17.9 | 28 |
| 12 | 3.2 | 31 | 21.6 | 51 | 8.6 | 35 |
| 18 | 5.3 | 19 | 36.6 | 41 | 20.5 | 39 |
| 24 | 13.6 | 22 | 32.1 | 28 | 39.1 | 23 |
| 30 | 5.9 | 17 | 35.0 | 20 | 33.3 | 18 |
| 36 | 33.3 | 6 | 68.4 | 19 | 54.5 | 11 |
| Overall prevalence* | 11.3 | 71 | 36.2 | 130 | 30.5 | 82 |
n total number of patients
*Chi-square test p-value = 0.001
Post-hoc tests: pre- vs. postmenopausal women (p = 0.396); premenopausal women vs. men (p < 0.001); postmenopausal women vs. men (p = 0.004)