Association of serum ferritin with metabolic syndrome in eight cities in China.

Meichen Wang,Haotian Feng,Ignatius Man‐Yau Szeto,Yumei Zhang,Ting Li,Yan Wang,Peiyu Wang,Wei Wu,Zhongxia Ren,Ai Zhao

doi:10.1002/fsn3.1408

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the cross‐sectional association of serum ferritin (SF) and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components among adults in eight cities in China.MethodsSubjects were recruited using a combination of systematic cluster random sampling and purposive sampling in eight cities in China. The sociodemographic characteristics, data of lifestyle factors, self‐reported disease history, and 24‐hr dietary intake were obtained using a validated questionnaire. Anthropometry was performed, and fasting blood was collected to test the SF, fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin, high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP), triglycerides (TG), and cholesterols. Logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted to investigate the associations, adjusting for age, city level, smoking, drinking, weekly moderate‐to‐vigorous activity, dietary factors, hs‐CRP, and BMI.ResultsSerum ferritin level is positively correlated with total cholesterol, TG, FBG, HOMA‐IR, and hs‐CRP after adjusting for age and BMI. The odds ratio (OR) for MetS in the highest quartile of SF was 2.23 (1.32, 3.77) after adjusting for men, compared with the lowest quartile. An elevated ferritin concentration was significantly related to hypertriglyceridemia (p < .001) and elevated glucose (p = .013) among men, but not among women. Furthermore, compared with Q1, the OR for insulin resistance in the ferritin Q4 group was 3.08 (1.50, 6.32) among men and 1.96 (1.19, 3.24) among women.ConclusionA positive association between elevated SF and MetS and its components including hypertriglyceridemia and elevated glucose was found in multivariate analyses among men, and SF levels are independently associated with IR.

Highlights

Iron is required in the human body as a functional component of many proteins which participate in a number of vital biochemical functions, including oxygen transport, energy production, and cytochrome synthesis (Ganz & Nemeth, 2015)
Ferritin is known as the form of iron storage, and serum ferritin (SF) levels are widely applied as an indicator of iron status (Ganz & Nemeth, 2015)
We found a positive association between elevated SF

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

Iron is required in the human body as a functional component of many proteins which participate in a number of vital biochemical functions, including oxygen transport, energy production, and cytochrome synthesis (Ganz & Nemeth, 2015). Partial correlation coefficients (adjusted for age and BMI) between SF and risk factors of MetS components, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, and hs-CRP were calculated in the overall studied population. BMI, WC, BP, dietary energy, macronutrient intake, FBG, HbA1c, SF, total cholesterol, TG concentration, and HOMA-IR were all higher in men, whereas men had lower HDL-C, fasting insulin, and hs-CRP concentrations than women. TA B L E 2 Partial correlation coefficients (adjusted for age and BMI) between SF and risk factors of MetS in the studied population, segregated by gender the crude model among women, but the association was weakened or not significant after adjustment in model 1. After adjusting for age, city level, smoking, alcohol consumption, activity, dietary factors, and hs-CRP, the association between SF and MetS was statistically significant.

| DISCUSSION

Findings

| CONCLUSIONS