UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Deepa Sekhar, assistant professor of pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine, has received one of three Sackler Institute for Nutrition Sciences Research Awards. Sekhar will receive $50,000 for her project, “Improving detection of iron deficiency among United States adolescent females.” The research award is intended to provide support to researchers concentrating their work on under-explored, and often under-funded, research topics.
“In the United States, 9 percent to 16 percent of adolescent females are iron-deficient with potentially negative effects on school performance, mood disorder and concentration,” Sekhar said. “Iron deficiency screening in primary care is based on testing for anemia, a late-stage indicator of iron deficiency, and misses most with the condition. Screening is not tailored to age or other risk factors specific to adolescents. In short, we use the wrong test, potentially at the wrong time, on the wrong women.”
The goal of Sekhar’s study is to develop a clinical risk assessment questionnaire to identify adolescent females at high risk of iron deficiency. That questionnaire would be incorporated into a sensitive and cost-effective primary care screening model.
The Sacker Institute for Nutrition Science at the New York Academy of Sciences is dedicated to advancing nutrition science research and knowledge, mobilizing communities and translating this work into the field. For more information, visit www.nyas.org/nutrition.