Abstract
Relatively few studies have been undertaken to correlate biochemical variables with psychological measurements. The present study aimed to delineate the relationship between iron status and psychoaffective behavior in active and healthy women taking or not taking oral contraceptives (OCs). The MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) was used to assess the psychoaffective status. Although dietary iron intake in both groups was adequate, serum ferritin used as a marker for body iron stores was marginal, indicating a high prevalence of deficient iron reserves among subjects. The serum iron concentration was significantly higher in OC users than control subjects (p<0–001). The correlation analysis showed an inverse relationship (but not significant) between psychometric data and iron status, that is, a lower performance on some clinical scales (particularly those used to detect symptoms such as irritability, aggressiv-ity and anxiety) in subjects having lower serum iron and ferritin concentrations. The present study was the first attempt to relate psychoaffective behavior to iron status in women taking OCs by means of the MMPI.