Low Red Blood Cell Count
Free Symptom Checker
with Physician-supervised AI
Reviewed By:
Yoshinori Abe, MD (Internal Medicine)
Dr. Abe graduated from The University of Tokyo School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency at the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Longevity Medical Center. He co-founded Ubie, Inc. in May 2017, where he currently serves as CEO & product owner at Ubie. Since December 2019, he has been a member of the Special Committee for Activation of Research in Emergency AI of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine. | | Dr. Abe has been elected in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Healthcare & Science category.
Unnati Patel, MD, MSc (Family Medicine)
Dr.Patel serves as Center Medical Director and a Primary Care Physician at Oak Street Health in Arizona. She graduated from the Zhejiang University School of Medicine prior to working in clinical research focused on preventive medicine at the University of Illinois and the University of Nevada. Dr. Patel earned her MSc in Global Health from Georgetown University, during which she worked with the WHO in Sierra Leone and Save the Children in Washington, D.C. She went on to complete her Family Medicine residency in Chicago at Norwegian American Hospital before completing a fellowship in Leadership in Value-based Care in conjunction with the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, where she earned her MBA. Dr. Patel’s interests include health tech and teaching medical students and she currently serves as Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Arizona School of Medicine.
Content updated on Feb 7, 2025
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Try one of these related symptoms.
Low red blood cell count on blood test
Last blood test showed anemia
Low hemoglobin on recent blood test
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- Diagnosed with low red blood cell count (anemia) on the most recent blood test
- Low red cell count on the most recent blood test
- Last blood test showed low red cell count
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Try Free Symptom QuizAbout the Symptom
Anemia is a condition characterized by a deficiency of healthy red blood cells. This deficiency can result from a lower red blood cell count or a reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of the red blood cells. It is typically diagnosed through blood tests.
When to See a Doctor
Seek professional care if you experience any of the following symptoms
- Low red blood cell count
Possible Causes
Generally, Low red blood cell count can be related to:
- MELAS Syndrome
MELAS is a rare genetic disorder that starts in childhood and mainly affects the nervous system and muscles. The disorder is transmitted through the affected person's mother. Typical MELAS symptoms include weak muscles, sudden ("stroke-like") neurological symptoms such as paralysis of the right or left side of the body, blindness, or numbness, in addition to seizures and migraine-like headaches. People who have MELAS are also typically short in size, and have difficulty hearing.
- Multiple Myeloma (MM)
This is a cancer of a type of white blood cell in the blood, called a plasma cell. Cancerous cells multiply and "crowd out" other healthy, normal cells. Risk factors include positive family history, older age, and male sex. Symptoms include fatigue, bone pain, weight loss, and inability to fight infections.
- Anemia
Anemia is a disorder where the body's tissues don't receive enough oxygen due to a lack of healthy red blood cells. There are several types of anemia with various causes, the most common being iron-deficiency anemia, which results from insufficient iron. Iron is needed to produce hemoglobin, a substance in red blood cells that helps carry oxygen.
- Castleman's Disease / TAFLO Syndrome
- Vitamin B12 Deficiency
- Behcet's Disease
- Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria
- Bladder Cancer / Ureteric Cancer / Renal Pelvis Cancer
- Adenomyosis
Related Serious Diseases
Sometimes, Low red blood cell count may be related to these serious diseases:
- Viral Associated Hemophagocytic Syndrome
Viral-associated hemophagocytic syndrome is a life-threatening condition where a specific part of the immune system attacks normal cells. Viral infections, among other triggers, can cause this condition. The immune system damages organs through inflammation.
Doctor's Diagnostic Questions
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this symptom:
- Do you have a low red blood cell count on your blood test?
- When did you first notice your low red blood cell count on a blood test?
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Reviewed By:
Yoshinori Abe, MD (Internal Medicine)
Dr. Abe graduated from The University of Tokyo School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency at the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Longevity Medical Center. He co-founded Ubie, Inc. in May 2017, where he currently serves as CEO & product owner at Ubie. Since December 2019, he has been a member of the Special Committee for Activation of Research in Emergency AI of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine. | | Dr. Abe has been elected in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Healthcare & Science category.
Unnati Patel, MD, MSc (Family Medicine)
Dr.Patel serves as Center Medical Director and a Primary Care Physician at Oak Street Health in Arizona. She graduated from the Zhejiang University School of Medicine prior to working in clinical research focused on preventive medicine at the University of Illinois and the University of Nevada. Dr. Patel earned her MSc in Global Health from Georgetown University, during which she worked with the WHO in Sierra Leone and Save the Children in Washington, D.C. She went on to complete her Family Medicine residency in Chicago at Norwegian American Hospital before completing a fellowship in Leadership in Value-based Care in conjunction with the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, where she earned her MBA. Dr. Patel’s interests include health tech and teaching medical students and she currently serves as Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Arizona School of Medicine.
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Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1