A 62-year-old man presents with pallor, fatigue, and dyspnea on exeion. A complete blood count reveals microcytic hypochromic anemia. The likely cause of this hematological finding is?

- Iron deficiency anemia is the most common cause of hypochromic microcytic anemia - In men and postmenopausal women, the usual cause of IDA is occult gastrointestinal blood loss (due to helminthic infestations, GI malignancies, etc). warrants a complete workup, including GI endoscopy to detect the source of the bleeding. - In young women, the cause is most often related to menstrual blood loss (increased iron requirement), compounded by deficient dietary intake.