Endocrine Abstracts

Background: We have previously investigated the association between serum ferritin levels and risks of metabolic syndrome (MetS) using the same database from 2009 wave of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (2009 CHNS). We confirmed that MetS components are associated with increased serum ferritin levels in both men and women group, included abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, and abnormal glucose level. Although, the prevalence of anaemia was not associated with having diabetes, the anaemic participants have abnormal iron metabolism. This will influence the serum ferritin level. So in this study, we aimed to further investigate the association between serum ferritin concentrations with diabetes, glucose control and IR adjusted for other confounders in non-anaemic Chinese population, especially adjusted other MetS components in multivariable logistic regression analyses.

Methods: Fasting blood samples and anthropometric data collected on 7362 adults aged 18 and older in 2009 wave of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (2009 CHNS). Data were collected by trained physicians. The fasting serum glucose and blood routine examination were measured at local hospitals. Other biochemical markers were analyzed by an automatic clinical chemistry analyser at the Department of Laboratory Medicine of CJFH.

Results: For both men and women, higher concentrations of serum ferritin were associated with higher values for markers of insulin resistance. But after adjusted for age, and some of MetS components, the difference became weak.

Conclusion: We observed a weak association between serum ferritin levels and the prevalence of diabetes and IR in non-anaemic population. Additional studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms of serum ferritin and risks of diabetes. This may help to reduce diabetes or pro-diabetes.