High Levels of Iron Status and Oxidative Stress in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

Studies concerning oxidative stress (OxE) parameters have increased, mainly because of its important role in cardiovascular diseases and diabetes complications. The main objective of this study was to evaluate iron nutrition status and oxidative stress parameters in subjects that had developed metabolic syndrome (MetS). Subjects from the Research Program of Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease (n = 155) were studied (ages ranging from 45 to 65 years old) and classified according to the Adult Treatment Panel III criterion. A blood sample was taken after a 12-h fasting period, and basal glucose, insulin, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), oxidized LDL (oxLDL), heme oxygenase (HO) activity, lipid profile, and iron nutrition status were determined. Eighty-five subjects were classified as MetS, and 70 non-MetS. Individuals with MetS showed higher Fe storage (high levels of ferritin, total body iron and low transferrin receptor), oxLDL, TBARS, and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance levels. The MetS group showed high levels of oxidative stress parameters (HO activity, oxLDL, and TBARS). The presence of MetS showed an association with LDL oxidation risk (multiple lineal regression according to sex and age, p < 0.001). High levels of triglycerides (p < 0.001) and waist circumference (p < 0.012) were associated with oxLDL levels, as well as an association between TBARS and oxLDL with ferritin levels. Through logistic regression analyses, the highest quartile of ferritin was associated with a threefold risk of developing MetS compared to the lowest quartile; also, TBARS showed a 21-fold risk for the development of MetS. Finally, elevated levels of oxidative stress parameters such us oxLDL, TBARS, HO, and Fe storage were associated to MetS.

Relationship between Serum Levels of Body Iron Parameters and Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Children

“…The participants with higher risks for MetS had the highest serum ferritin quartile compared with those with the lowest. However, the association study of body iron status and oxidative stress factors with MetS described that individuals with MetS presented low TfR, despite the increase of plasma ferritin [29]. Also, individuals with an abdominal adiposity component of MetS showed higher levels of sTfR, although sTfR presented no significant difference between participants with or without MetS in the population based case control study [7].…”

Ferritin levels and risk of metabolic syndrome: meta-analysis of observational studies

“…The fifteen studies found [11-22,26,31,32] were published between 2004 and February 2014. One study was performed in the United States [11], nine studies in Asia [13,15-18,20,22,26,31]; four in Europe [12,14,21,32] and one in Chile [19]. The number of subjects per study varied between 155 [19] to 13,084 [26] (Table 1).…”

Iron metabolism and incidence of metabolic syndrome

“…The second hypothesis would be that moderately elevated transferrin could lead to METS through multiple complex mechanisms [10,15,19]. The first mechanism implies the excessive formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from peroxide reactions combined with the inhibition of antioxidative defenses such as Superoxide Dismutase 2 [10].…”

“…Indeed, one third of patients with METS present with dysmetabolic iron overload syndrome, a condition characterized by altered regulation of iron transport, hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance, and subclinical inflammation (for a review, see [20]). Thus, transferrin-related increase in ROS levels could lead to an up regulation of gluconeogenesis and to impaired lipid metabolism, two components of METS [10,19,21]. The action of ROS on circulating insulin could increase insulin resistance [10], while vessel damage due to ROS could induce both high blood pressure and atherosclerosis [22] Overall, it remains to be clarified whether METS leads to higher levels of markers of iron metabolism or whether higher levels of markers of iron metabolism lead to METS.…”