Does iron deficiency cause melasma or skin pigmentation

Pigmentation is a condition in which darker patches are formed on the skin. These marks become darker when there is an excess of melanin in the skin. There are also some biological factors that damage the skin this way, such as a nutritional deficiency, changes in hormones, excess iron, excess production of melanin, acne, etc. There can be many reasons for hyperpigmentation.

Melasma is a common pigmentation disorder that causes dark brown spots to appear on the skin, especially on the face. Melasma is caused by an overproduction of the cells that make up your skin. Although the excess of melanin in the skin is harmless, some treatments can help in curing it.

In this article, we will discuss whether iron deficiency really causes melasma or not.

Relationship between melasma and iron
Some other reasons

Doctors for Does iron deficiency cause melasma

Relationship between melasma and iron

According to the Russian Open Medical Journal (ROMJ), there is some evidence of iron-deficiency anemia and vitamin B12 deficiency causing hyperpigmentation.

According to ROMJ, iron-deficiency anemia is a health problem that occurs most often in women of reproductive age or in younger women. This is also the group of women who are most susceptible to melasma. The study also reported that low levels of hemoglobin (Hb), serum levels of iron, ferritin and total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) were observed in patients with melasma. However, the nutritional habits of patients with melasma also greatly influence this serum level. It was said in this research that women suffering from the problem of melasma have very little iron at high TIBC levels.

Current research also indicates that the problem of anemia has been seen repeatedly in women suffering from melasma and their iron level is also very low. The research also revealed that iron levels in patients with melasma and recurrent anemia may be different due to a disease or age. That is, it is difficult to say what percentage of patients with melasma have low iron levels.

The results of research by Kazi et al (2017) also observed the frequency of recurrent anemia and iron deficiency in women with melasma, which is in line with current research findings. In the conclusion of this research, it was proved that the iron profile of women suffering from melasma is different from that of normal women. It is also believed that the high frequency of anemia can lead to melasma.

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Some other reasons

It is generally believed that melasma can be caused by a malfunction of the melanocytes in the skin, causing them to produce too much colour. It is also said that people with dark skin are more prone to melasma, as they have more melanocytes than people with light skin.

Doctors still do not completely understand why melasma occurs but some reasons can be: