Anemia of chronic disease: A harmful disorder or an adaptive, beneficial response?

Physiological and pathological population dynamics of circulating human red blood cells

“…Earlier detection of IDA via this method would enable a faster response to such conditions. If a reduced v c represents an adaptive physiologic response to offset the anemia, then perhaps one would expect the normal v c seen here for ACD, where the anemia itself may represent an adaptive physiologic response (18). Fig.…”

Is Iron Deficiency in the Absence of Anemia Associated With Fatigue in Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

“…Perhaps in the presence of chronic disease, whether active or in remission, other processes related to stress or sleep disturbances may play a greater contributory role with fatigue in IBD than measurable iron levels (8). It should be noted that iron sequestration, and thus possibly iron deficiency in the setting of prolonged chronic illness, is a genetic determined adaptive response to sickness (48). The mechanism of iron deficiency in IBD patients and subsequent response to iron supplementation may therefore be fundamentally different than iron deficiency seen in healthy women.…”

Review article: Risks of anemia and related management strategies: can perioperative blood management improve patient safety?

“…3,21 In less severe chronic anemia, however, some authors have proposed that anemia may be adaptive. 22 In addition to these opposing views, it is also possible that anemia may be merely associated with, rather than causative of, multisystem organ failure and death (Fig. 1).…”