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Iron deficiency is a common condition in primary care and every general practitioner should be able to diagnose and treat it. Iron deficiency in Sweden should primarily be considered a result of increased loss of iron rather than decreased intake. A reason and diagnose for this loss should be found and treated. Bleedings are the most common cause, primarily due to menstruation in women and secondarily gastrointestinal bleedings that can be potentially seri­ous. Iron deficiency includes absolute iron deficiency and functional iron deficiency. Absolute iron deficiency is common in the primary care setting and is normally easy to diagnose and treat according to guidelines. Functional iron deficiency is less well known but is important to recognize as it may complicate many of the chronic diseases that are often managed in primary care. Treatment of choice in absolute iron deficiency is normally orally administered iron, whereas intravenous iron is often preferred for treatment of functional iron deficiency.

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