Body Iron Stores as Predictors of Insulin Resistance in Apparently Healthy Urban Colombian Men

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate body iron stores as predictors of insulin resistance. We developed a cross-sectional study among 123 men, 25-64 years of age and determined fasting plasma glucose, insulin, serum ferritin, and C-reactive protein levels. A survey was performed to record personal antecedents and family history of non-transmissible chronic diseases. Log-transformed ferritin levels was an independent predictor for log-transformed insulin resistance index assessed by homeostatic model assessment when body mass index or waist circumference were not included in multiple linear regression models. Sedentarism, heart attack family history, and log-C reactive protein levels were also significant predictors for insulin resistance. In conclusion, documented anthropometric predictors affect the significance of ferritin as a potential prediction variable for insulin resistance. Mechanisms of how body fat could influence ferritin levels should be evaluated. To our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the relationship between body iron stores and insulin resistance in a Latin American population.

Body iron stores and the risk of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged men

“…Several etiological pathways from iron-induced oxidative damage (2,3) to impaired insulin sensitivity and increased insulin resistance (4,5,6,7,8), have been suggested in iron-T2DM hypothesis. Despite the fact that ferritin is an acute-phase reactant that may be elevated in the presence of liver disease, inflammation, and neoplasm, it has been predominantly used as a marker of body iron stores especially in epidemiological studies (9,10).…”

Serum ferritin and glucose homeostasis: change in the association by glycaemic state

“…Previous reports on the association between body iron stores and glucose homeostasis in the general population lack the analysis based on the three glycaemic states. This may have contributed to the conflicting findings reported so far on this study question . In a cross‐sectional study of a group of 151 healthy adult males by Syrovatka et al , they found that higher body iron stores, as assessed by sF, correlated positively with those assessed by HOMA‐IR.…”

“…In a cross‐sectional study of a group of 151 healthy adult males by Syrovatka et al , they found that higher body iron stores, as assessed by sF, correlated positively with those assessed by HOMA‐IR. However, another cross‐sectional analysis of 123 apparently healthy men by Suarez‐Ortegon et al showed that sF did not significantly predict HOMA‐IR . A large population study by Kim et al investigated the association of sF concentration with glucose metabolism by glycaemic states.…”

“…First is the type of association that exists between body iron stores and glucose homeostasis at different glycaemic states and second is the limited data on studies that assessed both insulin resistance and beta cell function simultaneously in these analyses. These previous studies were either conducted in the general population with mixed glycaemic states or in selected samples with exclusion of the diabetic state . Also, the results have been somewhat inconsistent.…”

High serum ferritin level is an independent risk factor for metabolic syndrome in a Chinese male cohort population

“…Besides, increasing serum ferritin level plays an important role in metabolic risk factors such as type 2 diabetes [16], insulin resistance [17], hypertension [18], and dyslipidemia [19,20]. Increasing evidence showed that elevated serum ferritin is associated with MetS [21].…”