Chronic blood loss can lead to what type of anemia?

Chronic blood loss primarily results in iron deficiency anemia due to the prolonged loss of iron during periods of bleeding. When blood is lost over time, iron reserves in the body become depleted because the body needs iron to produce hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen.

In chronic situations, this ongoing loss without adequate replenishment diminishes the iron available for erythropoiesis, or red blood cell production. Consequently, this leads to a decrease in the production of hemoglobin, resulting in smaller red blood cells (microcytic anemia) subsequently.

Iron deficiency anemia is distinguishable from other types of anemia because it’s directly linked to iron availability. For instance, normocytic anemia typically arises from conditions that affect red blood cell production or lifespan without a direct association with iron levels, aplastic anemia involves the failure of the bone marrow to produce adequate blood cells, and sideroblastic anemia is due to a defect in the incorporation of iron into hemoglobin. Thus, chronic blood loss and its resultant depletion of iron make iron deficiency anemia the appropriate answer.