Causes of Anaemia
There are over 400 different forms of anaemia known, with each having a particular etiology. For instance, acute anaemia can be caused by sudden and excessive bleeding, such as may occur in the case of a traumatic injury.
Chronic forms of anaemia may be a consequence of various diseases such as metastatic cancers and leukaemia, or of gradual and repetitive bleeding, such as during heavy menstrual periods. Less commonly, anaemia may derive from excessive RBC destruction.
However, anaemia is also a typical finding in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients; it already occurs during early stages of CKD and affects virtually all individuals suffering from chronic kidney failure.1-3
Predominantly, an insufficient iron supply is one major cause of anaemia in CKD; the estimated prevalence of iron deficient anaemia among CKD patients ranges from 25 to 70 %.1,2,4-7
In addition, reduced production of the renal hormone EPO due to progressive kidney damage, insufficient response to EPO as well as blood loss during haemodialysis treatment may contribute to even aggravate anaemia during later stages of CKD.8,9,10,11
