EPO and anemia: In addition to the lack of sufficient erythropoietin (EPO) necessary for the production of red blood cells (Babitt & Lin, 2010; Feldman et al., 2002; Gafter‐Gvili et al., 2019), contributing factors for anemia and iron deficiency in CKD include poor diet, inflammation, compromised iron absorption, bleeding, and EPO resistance (Stauffer & Fan, 2014).