Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) occurs in 2-5% of adult men and postmenopausal women in the developed world and is a common cause of referral to gastroenterologists. Gastrointestinal (GI) blood loss from colonic cancer or gastric cancer, and malabsorption in coeliac disease are the most important causes that need to be sought.

IDA occurs in 2-5% of adult men and postmenopausal women in the developed world and is a common cause of referral to gastroenterologists (4-13% of referrals). While menstrual blood loss is the most common cause of IDA in premenopausal women, blood loss from the GI tract is the most common cause in adult men and postmenopausal women. Asymptomatic colonic and gastric carcinoma may present with IDA, and seeking these conditions is a priority in patients with IDA. Malabsorption (most commonly from coeliac disease in the UK), poor dietary intake, blood donation, gastrectomy and use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are common causes of IDA, and there are many other possible causes. IDA is often multifactorial. Its management is often suboptimal, with most patients being incompletely investigated or not investigated at all. Dual pathology - that is, the presence of a significant cause of bleeding in both upper and lower GI tracts - may occur in 1-10% of patients or more and should be increasingly considered the older the patient.

This document replaces the previous guideline published in 2005.