What is anemia? Anemia is defined as a lower than normal concentration of hemoglobin in the peripheral blood. The normal adult hemoglobin amount is 12-16 g/100 ml for men and 11-15 g/100 ml for women. Anything lower than these indicators is considered anemia. Anemia is a symptom and a common manifestation of many diseases. What are the symptoms or manifestations of anemia in Han Xiaofeng, Department of Hematology, Shanghai Renji Hospital? Mild anemia can have no obvious symptoms, and the symptoms of anemia are often not specific, so it is easy to be overlooked. Dizziness, weakness, pallor, panic, shortness of breath, insomnia, memory loss, swollen feet, etc. can be manifestations of anemia. Because anemia has multiple causes, it is also accompanied by manifestations of the primary disease, for example, anemia caused by stomach cancer can have symptoms such as wasting, abdominal pain, vomiting, black stool, etc. Who is prone to anemia? Among those who suffer from anemia, women are significantly higher than men, and the elderly and children are higher than the young and middle-aged. The prevalence of anemia in women is 64.4%. Women’s menstruation, the dual demand for blood-producing substances by themselves and the fetus during pregnancy, and bleeding during childbirth are all direct causes. In the past, the main cause of anemia was malnutrition, and in recent years, nutritional disorders caused by weight loss have formed another group of people with severe anemia. What are the main causes of anemia? There are various causes of anemia: mainly nutrient element deficiency, blood loss, hemolysis, and hematopoietic dysfunction. The most common nutrient deficiency is iron deficiency anemia, which is seen in malnutrition, picky and partial eating, gastrointestinal bleeding, excessive menstruation in women and hookworm disease; followed by megaloblastic anemia, which is often caused by vitamin B12 or folic acid deficiency in vegetarians or gastrointestinal diseases that affect absorption. Hemolytic anemia is anemia caused by excessive destruction of red blood cells due to various causes, often accompanied by jaundice, some of which are hereditary and require a series of tests and joint testing with relatives to clarify. Aplastic anemia is anemia caused by hematopoietic dysfunction, which can be identified by bone marrow examination. In addition, anemia can be caused by kidney diseases, immune system diseases, tumor diseases such as leukemia, MDS, and after radiotherapy. What are the adverse consequences of anemia? The main danger of anemia is the lack of oxygen to the tissues and organs, especially the brain and heart, which can lead to inability to concentrate, dizziness or even fainting, palpitations and other symptoms that affect daily life and work. Some anemias such as megaloblastic anemia can develop severe neurological symptoms if left undiagnosed and untreated, and some of them are even irreversible. How to standardize the treatment of anemia? Once anemia is detected, one should go to the hematology department for further examination as soon as possible and actively search for the cause of the disease, rather than taking so-called “blood supplements”, which often conceal the disease, affect the test results, delay the diagnosis, and thus lose the best time for treatment. In general, anemia caused by nutrient deficiency can be recovered after supplementation with corresponding elements, but attention should be paid to cultivating good diet and living habits; hemolytic anemia can be treated with glucocorticoids, spleen cutting and immunosuppressants; anemia caused by kidney disease, immune system disease, tumor disease, etc. is mainly treated with the primary disease.