The Gender-specific Association Between Serum Ferritin Levels and Insulin Resistance Markers in Bangladeshi Adults
Serum Ferritin Levels and Insulin Resistance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3329/bmrcb.v50i1.69712Keywords:
Gender Differences, IR Markers, Serum Ferritin, adult populationAbstract
Background: Recent research focused on iron stores' impact on diabetes, highlighting ferritin as a key biomarker. Studies revealed elevated ferritin, indicating increased iron stores linked with insulin resistance (IR). However, the connection between ferritin and IR exhibits variability based on ethnicity, gender, and glycemic state, leading to inconclusive findings. So, there is a notable gap in existing data regarding the relationship between ferritin and IR among South Asian men and women, especially in Bangladesh. To our knowledge, This is the first time we are evaluating the relationship between body iron stores and insulin resistance markers in our population.
Objectives: The aim was to examine the relationship between IR markers (fasting insulin, glucose, and HOMA-IR) and serum ferritin concentrations in Bangladeshi adults.
Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at Sir Salimullah Medical College, Dhaka (March 2018 - February 2019). It involved 140 subjects aged 25-55. Among them, 92 were male and 48 were female. Multiple regression analysis was performed after determining ferritin levels, insulin levels, and fasting plasma glucose levels and calculating the homeostatic model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR in both genders after adjustment. Exclusion criteria were applied to eliminate individuals with inflammatory diseases, chronic conditions, major cardiovascular events, alcoholism, anaemia, or specific medications that could affect ferritin levels.
Results: Females had lower mean ferritin (p < 0.001) than males. After adjustment for covariates in men-fasting glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR were significantly increased with increasing serum ferritin levels (P for trend < .001). The highest tertile is associated with older age, higher BMI, FPG, serum insulin, and HOMA-IR in men. In females, serum ferritin correlated positively only with FPG, not other markers.
Conclusion: In Bangladeshi adult men, serum ferritin concentrations were positively associated with fasting glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR, indicating an essential role of iron storage in the pathogenesis of IR, while this association was not observed in women.
Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2024; 50: 32-39
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Copyright (c) 2024 Most Tasnim Ara Jhilky ; Mohammad Mohsin M ia, Ehsanul Haque Khan, Manindra Nath Roy, Shamima Parvin, Afsana Shahid Priyanka
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