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

Abstract

BackgroundElevated serum ferritin levels have been reported to contribute to metabolic syndrome (MetS). We examined the association of serum ferritin levels with the development of MetS in a representative sample of Chinese male adult population.MethodThe data came from the 2009–2013 Fangchenggang Area Males Health and Examination Survey (FAMHES). We combined a cross-sectional study of 2417 males and a longitudinal study of 857 males who participated in the FAMHES.ResultThe serum ferritin level of MetS was higher than that of nonMetS (median and percentiles 25–75: 447.4 (294.1-612.4) vs. 302.4 (215.0-435.8) ng/ml, p < 0.01). A positive correlation between ferritin concentrations and blood pressure (Systolic BP: R = 0.110, Diastolic BP: R = 0.158), waist circumference (R = 0.333), fasting glucose (R = 0.089), triglyceride (R = 0.315) and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (R = 0.130) was significant (all p < 0.001). Compared with the level of ferritin in the group with no MetS component, the group with all five MetS components had a higher ferritin level (554.7 (340.1-606.4) vs. 274.2 (198.2-384.4) ng/ml). The odd radio (OR) was higher for MetS in the highest ferritin quartile (OR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.47-3.54) compared with the lowest ferritin quartile after adjustment for multi-factors. After 4-year follow up, 79 subjects newly diagnosed with MetS in 857 cohort male participants in 2013. Compared with the lowest ferritin quartile, the RR of the highest ferritin quartile was 2.55 (95% CI = 1.30-5.00) after multiple adjustments (p < 0.01).ConclusionOur findings confirm that the serum ferritin level is associated with the independent components of MetS, and elevated ferritin level is an independent risk factor for MetS development in the Chinese male population during the 4-year follow-up period.

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

“…A meta‐analysis (Suarez‐Ortegon et al, ) also found that the meta‐regression for ferritin–MetS association identified weaker associations when the studies adjusted for BMI, but the role of adjustment for BMI in evaluating confounding factors should be considered. FAMHES (Tang et al, ) has not yet found an association between SF and MetS after adjusting for BMI among Chinese males. There may be strong associations between BMI and the components of MetS, such as WC.…”

“…Survey (FAMHES) conducted in Guangxi discussed this association in the Chinese male population (Tang et al, 2015). Another study reported that SF levels are independently associated with MetS and IR in the Beijing area (Chen et al, 2017).…”

Ferritin, metabolic syndrome and its components: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Two studies exclusively involved post-menopausal women (28), another, only women (both pre and post-menopausal) (10), and four, only men (15,16,29,30). Information on adjustment variables used in the studies is shown in (15,37,38) or other inflammatory markers such as fibrinogen levels (35).…”

“…The values are grouped by sex/menopausal status/sex-specific tertiles and quartiles. All of the studies described cut-offs for high ferritin lower than suggested reference values (>200 µg/L in women, >300 µg/L in men) (5), with the exception of and 426.6 µg/L (prospective study) in men) (29).…”

Predictive value of ceruloplasmin for metabolic syndrome in adolescents

“…Currently, there is controversy on the association of iron concentrations in the body and its metabolism with the development of the MetS in both genders, both in adults and adolescents. Iron is usually considered as an independent factor for the development of MetS and, thus, not in all cases associated with ceruloplasmin levels [36][37][38][39][40][41].…”