TY - JOUR
T1 - Factors associated with serum ferritin levels and iron excess
T2 - results from the EPIC-EurGast study
AU - Iglesias-Vázquez, Lucía
AU - Arija, Victoria
AU - Aranda, Núria
AU - Aglago, Elom K
AU - Cross, Amanda J
AU - Schulze, Matthias B
AU - Quintana Pacheco, Daniel
AU - Kühn, Tilman
AU - Weiderpass, Elisabete
AU - Tumino, Rosario
AU - Redondo-Sánchez, Daniel
AU - de Magistris, Maria Santucci
AU - Palli, Domenico
AU - Ardanaz, Eva
AU - Laouali, Nasser
AU - Sonestedt, Emily
AU - Drake, Isabel
AU - Rizzolo, Lucía
AU - Santiuste, Carmen
AU - Sacerdote, Carlotta
AU - Quirós, Ramón
AU - Amiano, Pilar
AU - Agudo, Antonio
AU - Jakszyn, Paula
N1 - © 2021. Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - PURPOSE: Excess iron is involved in the development of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. We aimed to describe the prevalence of excess iron and its determinants in healthy European adults.METHODS: Sociodemographic, lifestyle, iron status, dietary information, and HFE genotyping were obtained from controls from the nested case-control study EPIC-EurGast study. High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) was measured to address possible systemic inflammation. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used to assess iron status and its determinants.RESULTS: Out of the 828 participants (median age: 58.7 years), 43% were females. Median serum ferritin and prevalence of excess iron were 143.7 µg/L and 35.2% in males, respectively, and 77 µg/L and 20% in females, both increasing with latitude across Europe. Prevalence of HFE C282Y mutation was significantly higher in Northern and Central Europe (~ 11%) than in the South (5%). Overweight/obesity, age, and daily alcohol and heme iron intake were independent determinants for iron status, with sex differences even after excluding participants with hsCRP > 5 mg/L. Obese males showed a greater consumption of alcohol, total and red meat, and heme iron, compared with those normal weight.CONCLUSION: Obesity, higher alcohol and heme iron consumption were the main risk factors for excess iron in males while only age was associated with iron overload in females. Weight control and promoting healthy lifestyle may help prevent iron overload, especially in obese people. Further research is needed to clarify determinants of excess iron in the healthy adult population, helping to reduce the associated comorbidities.
AB - PURPOSE: Excess iron is involved in the development of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. We aimed to describe the prevalence of excess iron and its determinants in healthy European adults.METHODS: Sociodemographic, lifestyle, iron status, dietary information, and HFE genotyping were obtained from controls from the nested case-control study EPIC-EurGast study. High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) was measured to address possible systemic inflammation. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used to assess iron status and its determinants.RESULTS: Out of the 828 participants (median age: 58.7 years), 43% were females. Median serum ferritin and prevalence of excess iron were 143.7 µg/L and 35.2% in males, respectively, and 77 µg/L and 20% in females, both increasing with latitude across Europe. Prevalence of HFE C282Y mutation was significantly higher in Northern and Central Europe (~ 11%) than in the South (5%). Overweight/obesity, age, and daily alcohol and heme iron intake were independent determinants for iron status, with sex differences even after excluding participants with hsCRP > 5 mg/L. Obese males showed a greater consumption of alcohol, total and red meat, and heme iron, compared with those normal weight.CONCLUSION: Obesity, higher alcohol and heme iron consumption were the main risk factors for excess iron in males while only age was associated with iron overload in females. Weight control and promoting healthy lifestyle may help prevent iron overload, especially in obese people. Further research is needed to clarify determinants of excess iron in the healthy adult population, helping to reduce the associated comorbidities.
KW - Case-Control Studies
KW - Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
KW - Female
KW - Ferritins
KW - Hemochromatosis/epidemiology
KW - Hemochromatosis Protein/genetics
KW - Histocompatibility Antigens Class I
KW - Humans
KW - Iron
KW - Iron Overload
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
U2 - 10.1007/s00394-021-02625-w
DO - 10.1007/s00394-021-02625-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 34213605
SN - 1436-6207
VL - 61
SP - 101
EP - 114
JO - European Journal of Nutrition
JF - European Journal of Nutrition
IS - 1
ER -
