EVALUTION OF SERUM IRON AND HAEMATOCRIT VALUES AMONG MENSTRUATING FEMALE STUDENTS OF MADONNA UNIVERSITY, ELELE CAMPUS

Menstruation is a natural physiological process that causes regular blood loss, and iron deficiency is a common concern among menstruating women due to the increased iron requirements to compensate for the loss. The study aims to investigate the levels of serum iron and haematocrit in menstruating female students of Madonna university, Elele campus. A total number of 60 students attending Madonna university Nigeria, Elele Campus were recruited for the study comprising of 30 menstruating students and 30 non menstruating students were used as control. 5mls of whole blood was collected from each subject by venipuncture from the ante-cubital vein and dispensed into a plain container (3mls) and EDTA (ethylenediaminetetracetic acid)(2mls) container respectively. Serum iron was analyzed spectrophotometrically while haematocrit was analyzed using microhaematocrit method. Data analysis was conducted using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 22 windows 10, the result were express in Mean±SD(standard deviation). Data obtained from the analysed using paired samples t-test. Values were considered significant at P0.05. The result of the study shows the demographic and characteristic of menstruating and non-menstruating female student of Madonna University, Elele, River State with mean age of 20.47±1.25 and 21.87±2.56 respectively. Haematocrit values in Female on non Menstruation (38.1333±1.73%) were significantly higher than Female on Menstruation (33.80±2.93%)(P