Serum Ferritin Relates to Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Offspring of Fathers With Higher Serum Ferritin Levels

Abstract

Objective-Body iron status has been linked to atherosclerosis in adults. The purposes of our study were to determine (1) the association between circulating ferritin levels and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in a cohort of apparently healthy children and (2) the association between cIMT and parental ferritin levels. Approach and Results-Circulating ferritin levels (microparticle enzyme immunoassay), metabolic parameters, and cIMT (ultrasonography) were analyzed cross-sectionally in a cohort of 692 healthy white children with a mean age of 8±2 years (52% girls and 48% boys). In consecutive 123 children from the cross-sectional sample, the same serum assessments were also performed at baseline in their parents, and the cIMT was repeated after 3 years of follow-up in the children at a mean age of 11±2 years (53% girls and 47% boys). Weak but significant positive associations were evident between children's circulating ferritin levels and cIMT (r=0.123; P=0.001) and with the change in cIMT 3 years later a tendency was also observed (r=0.185; P=0.048). In multiple regression analyses, circulating ferritin levels contributed independently to cIMT variance (β=0.090; P=0.026; R 2 =10%) and cIMT change variance (β=0.216; P=0.019; R 2 = 3.4%) after controlling for body mass index, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, age, sex, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels. This association was, however, remarkably significant (β=0.509; P=0.001; R 2 = 20.4%) in children whose fathers had ferritin levels above the median value (122.5 ng/mL).The latter association remained significant after correction for multiple testing. Maternal's ferritin levels showed no interaction in this association. Conclusions-These

Ferritin modifies the relationship between inflammation and arterial stiffness in hypertensive patients with different glucose tolerance

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Non-Transferrin-Bound Iron in the Spotlight: Novel Mechanistic Insights into the Vasculotoxic and Atherosclerotic Effect of Iron

“…While most of the clinical studies to assess the validity of the iron hypothesis have been performed in patients with CVD or altered iron status, a nuanced understanding of how small fluctuations of iron parameters within the physiological limits predispose to atherosclerosis in the healthy population is still lacking. A recent human population study reported for the first time a correlation between circulating ferritin levels and carotid-intima media thickness in a large healthy cohort of 692 children ( 171 ). Importantly, a J-shaped association of systemic iron status and cardiovascular mortality has been recently described in CAD patients ( 87 , 163 ).…”

Iron overload is related to elevated blood glucose levels in obese children and aggravates high glucose-induced endothelial cell dysfunction in vitro

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