What Are the Causes of Anemia?

There are many causes of anemia, commonly seen as the decrease of red blood cell production, excessive red blood cell destruction, and blood loss. It is recommended that patients seek medical attention promptly and undergo treatment under the guidance of doctors.

Decrease of Red Blood Cell Production:

1. Lack of hematopoietic raw materials: Insufficient intake or absorption of iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 can lead to exhaustion of stored iron in the body and iron deficiency anemia.

2. Decrease in bone marrow hematopoiesis: Diseases such as aplastic anemia, leukemia, and malignant tumor bone marrow metastasis can cause bone marrow hematopoiesis failure and lead to anemia.

3. Abnormal hematopoietic microenvironment: Congenital hematopoietic microenvironment dysplasia can lead to globin synthesis disorder and thalassemia. Megaloblastic anemia is caused by DNA synthesis disorder, which affects the biosynthesis of globin chains.

Excessive Red Blood Cell Destruction:

1. Hemolysis: Diseases such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia, favism, spherocytosis (thalassemia), hereditary spherocytosis, and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria can cause extensive destruction of red blood cells in the bloodstream, leading to anemia.

2. Hypersplenism: When the spleen is enlarged due to various reasons, it has a phagocytic effect on the red blood cells entering it, leading to increased red blood cell destruction and anemia.

Blood Loss:

Conditions such as gastrointestinal bleeding and excessive menstrual bleeding in women can easily lead to anemia due to excessive blood loss.

In addition to the above situations, long-term use of anticoagulant drugs, such as aspirin enteric-coated tablets and clopidogrel bisulfate tablets, may inhibit platelet aggregation, reduce blood viscosity, and increase the risk of thrombus formation, leading to anemia. Moreover, acute infectious diseases can also affect the metabolism of iron elements, resulting in anemia symptoms.