Association between Haem and Non-Haem Iron Intake and Serum Ferritin in Healthy Young Women.

Isabel Young,Anna Rangan,Hoi Cheng,Kate Steinbeck,Tania Prvan,Helen Parker,Nicholas O’Dwyer,Janet Franklin,Helen O’Connor,Rebecca Cook,Cheyne Donges

doi:10.3390/nu10010081

Abstract

Iron is an essential micronutrient for human health and inadequate intake may result in iron deficiency (ID) or iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). Unlike other recent studies investigating iron status in young women, this cross-sectional study analysed dietary intake and biochemical data from healthy young (18–35 years) women (n = 299) to determine the association between both haem iron (HI) and non-haem iron (NHI) intakes and serum ferritin (SF). Dietary restraint and possible inflammation secondary to obesity were also measured and accounted for, and energy intake was adjusted for using the residuals method. Independent samples t-tests and chi-squared tests were performed, and factors found to be significantly different between iron replete (IR) and ID/IDA participants were analysed using general linear modelling. ID/IDA participants consumed significantly lower total energy than iron replete (IR) (p = 0.003). Lower energy intake was also associated with higher levels of dietary restraint (p = 0.001). Both HI and NHI were positively associated with SF with HI was found to be a stronger predictor (β = 0.128, p = 0.009) than NHI (β = 0.037, p = 0.028). The study demonstrates that intake of both HI and NHI, as well as adequate dietary energy, are associated with normal iron status levels in young women, and that restrained eaters may be at greater risk of low iron status.

Highlights

Iron is an essential micronutrient for human health, and is involved in DNA and enzyme synthesis, oxygen transportation, erythropoiesis, metabolism, and immune function [1,2]
Energy-adjusted haem iron (HI) had a stronger association than non-haem iron (NHI), indicating that iron bioavailability is an important consideration for maintaining normal iron status in young women during reproductive years
The study found that serum ferritin (SF) levels of healthy young women were positively associated with both HI and NHI

Summary

Introduction

Iron is an essential micronutrient for human health, and is involved in DNA and enzyme synthesis, oxygen transportation, erythropoiesis, metabolism, and immune function [1,2]. The greater efficiency of absorption is due to specific haem transporters which enable HI to pass directly across cell membranes and into the bloodstream [2,5,6], whereas NHI is unable to utilise these transporters, requiring reduction of ferric iron to ferrous iron to occur prior to absorption [2]. Animal products, such as meat, poultry, and fish, are major dietary contributors of HI, comprising approximately 55–70% of the total iron content of these products [7,8]. The type of dietary iron (HI or NHI) may be a more important determinant of iron status than total dietary iron intake [10]

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Conclusion