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Oxford research highlights the global challenge of iron deficiency

Iron deficiency affects more than a billion people worldwide and remains a leading cause of anaemia. Oxford researchers are uncovering how iron levels shape immunity and infection - insights that could inform safer, more effective strategies to tackle iron deficiency globally.

SMRU/BHF Maternal & Child Health outreach site in Chediko, Mae Sot District, Tak Province
Maternal and Child Health outreach site in Chediko, Mae Sot District, Tak Province. Photo Credit: Saw Poe Christ.

More than 1.2 billion people worldwide develop iron-deficiency anaemia, with consequences ranging from fatigue, dizziness and hair loss to pregnancy complications and impaired child development. Yet iron’s role in health extends beyond these well-known effects.

Emerging research shows that iron status also shapes how the immune system responds to infection: a critical consideration in regions where both anaemia and infectious diseases are common.

Professor Hal Drakesmith leads the Iron and Immunity Research Group at Oxford’s MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (WIMM), where his team investigates the complex relationship between iron, immunity and infection. Working with collaborators in the UK, Africa and Asia, the group aims to improve understanding of how iron and anaemia interact with infectious diseases and to inform more tailored approaches in different global settings.

Read more in Tackling iron deficiency on Oxford Pulse.

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