Adolescent anaemia as a candidate marker of cardiometabolic vulnerability: A life-course preventive cardiology perspective
- 1Sudhir Heart Centre, Berhampur, Odisha, India
- 2Great Eastern Medical School and Hospital, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Abstract
Anaemia remains a major public health challenge among adolescents, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This narrative review evaluates adolescent anaemia as a candidate marker of cardiometabolic vulnerability within a life-course preventive cardiology framework. Targeted searches considered literature available through August 2026, distinguishing anaemia, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia and separating direct adolescent evidence from adult and mechanistic extrapolation. Impaired oxygen delivery, iron-dependent mitochondrial dysfunction, altered glucose metabolism, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and reduced functional capacity provide biologically plausible pathways. Direct adolescent evidence mainly concerns short-term functional outcomes; prospective evidence linking adolescent anaemia with adult cardiometabolic disease remains limited. Iron-metabolic relationships may be nonlinear and bidirectional, while iron deficiency anaemia can alter glycated haemoglobin independently of glycaemia. Adult heart-failure trials support selected clinical benefits of intravenous iron, although contemporary outcome trials are mixed and mortality benefit remains uncertain. Shared nutritional, inflammatory and socioeconomic determinants may also explain observed associations. Current clinical implications include aetiological assessment and treatment of anaemia, nutritional optimisation, menstrual health evaluation, physical activity promotion and cardiovascular risk assessment guided by established age- and risk-based indications. Prospective adolescent cohorts and intervention studies are needed to establish incremental predictive value and determine whether aetiology-specific treatment improves long-term cardiometabolic outcomes. This framework connects anaemia care with broader adolescent health promotion while defining the evidence needed for future preventive cardiology applications.
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BibTeX
@article{prasad2026adolescent,
title = {{Adolescent anaemia as a candidate marker of cardiometabolic vulnerability: A life-course preventive cardiology perspective}},
author = {D.S. Prasad and Sagarika Duggirala and Sailaja Duggirala and Revathi Devi Karuturi},
journal = {American heart journal plus : cardiology research and practice},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.ahjo.2026.101002},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13753346},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Adolescent anaemia as a candidate marker of cardiometabolic vulnerability: A life-course preventive cardiology perspective
AU - D.S. Prasad
AU - Sagarika Duggirala
AU - Sailaja Duggirala
AU - Revathi Devi Karuturi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/31
JO - American heart journal plus : cardiology research and practice
DO - 10.1016/j.ahjo.2026.101002
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13753346
AB - Anaemia remains a major public health challenge among adolescents, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This narrative review evaluates adolescent anaemia as a candidate marker of cardiometabolic vulnerability within a life-course preventive cardiology framework. Targeted searches considered literature available through August 2026, distinguishing anaemia, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia and separating direct adolescent evidence from adult and mechanistic extrapolation. Impaired oxygen delivery, iron-dependent mitochondrial dysfunction, altered glucose metabolism, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and reduced functional capacity provide biologically plausible pathways. Direct adolescent evidence mainly concerns short-term functional outcomes; prospective evidence linking adolescent anaemia with adult cardiometabolic disease remains limited. Iron-metabolic relationships may be nonlinear and bidirectional, while iron deficiency anaemia can alter glycated haemoglobin independently of glycaemia. Adult heart-failure trials support selected clinical benefits of intravenous iron, although contemporary outcome trials are mixed and mortality benefit remains uncertain. Shared nutritional, inflammatory and socioeconomic determinants may also explain observed associations. Current clinical implications include aetiological assessment and treatment of anaemia, nutritional optimisation, menstrual health evaluation, physical activity promotion and cardiovascular risk assessment guided by established age- and risk-based indications. Prospective adolescent cohorts and intervention studies are needed to establish incremental predictive value and determine whether aetiology-specific treatment improves long-term cardiometabolic outcomes. This framework connects anaemia care with broader adolescent health promotion while defining the evidence needed for future preventive cardiology applications.
SN - 2666-6022
ER -