Iron Across Disease, Illness, and Sickness: Biology, Experience, and Health Equity in Contemporary Medicine

Iron deficiency is commonly understood as a biological disorder. Yet for millions of individuals around the world it is also a lived experience and a social condition. While advances in molecular biology, clinical therapeutics, and intravenous iron formulations have transformed the management of iron deficiency across multiple medical specialties, less attention has been devoted to the ways in which iron deficiency is experienced by patients and shaped by health systems, economic inequalities, and access to care. The result is a paradox. Iron metabolism is among the most intensively studied areas of human biology, yet iron deficiency remains one of the most prevalent causes of impaired health and reduced human potential worldwide.This Research Topic proposes an integrated framework for understanding iron through the interconnected lenses of disease, illness, and sickness. Iron deficiency as disease encompasses molecular mechanisms, iron homeostasis, inflammation, hepcidin biology, mitochondrial function, ferroptosis, erythropoiesis, and the expanding therapeutic role of intravenous iron across hematology, cardiology, nephrology, oncology, gastroenterology, obstetrics, bariatric medicine, and other disciplines. Iron deficiency as illness draws attention to the lived experience of fatigue, cognitive impairment, reduced physical performance, diminished quality of life, and the personal consequences of functional limitation. Iron deficiency as sickness examines how social structures, healthcare systems, poverty, geography, policy, and access determine who receives diagnosis, treatment, and the benefits of scientific progress.We invite contributions ranging from molecular and translational research to clinical trials, systematic reviews, implementation science, health economics, medical anthropology, public health, and policy analysis. Our aim is not simply to advance knowledge of iron metabolism, but to foster a broader understanding of how biological mechanisms, human experience, and social realities interact to shape health outcomes. By bringing together investigators from diverse disciplines, this collection seeks to establish a more comprehensive vision of iron in contemporary medicine and to encourage research that is scientifically rigorous, clinically relevant, and socially responsive. Topic editors: Arturo J Martí-Carvajal, Juan Bautista De Sanctis, Diana Monge Martin Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83190/iron-across-disease-illness-and-sickness-biology-experience-and-health-equity-in-contemporary-medicine