ADA: Iron Predicts Diabetes Risk
Women in the highest quintile of ferritin concentration
were 2.66 times more likely to have diabetes,
compared with those in the lowest quintile, the
study showed.
Women with high body iron stores may be at increased
risk for type 2 diabetes, according to a new analysis
from the Nurses Health Study.
Rui Jiang, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the
Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston, Massachusetts,
presented the findings at the American Diabetes
Association 63rd Scientific Sessions.
While type 2 diabetes is a common manifestation
of haemochromatosis, previous studies looking
at whether high iron stores predict the risk of
the disease among healthy persons have shown confliting
results, she said.
The current prospective, nested, case-control
study addressed the question in a large cohort
of initially healthy women, looking at two biomarkers
of iron stores -- serum ferritin and ratio of
soluble transferrin receptor to serum ferritin
(TfR/ferritin) -- in relation to the development
of the disease. The cohort consisted of 32,826
women in the Nurses Health Study without signs
of heart disease, cancer or diabetes when they
provided blood samples in 1989-90.
By 2000, 735 women had developed type 2 diabetes.
The 787 controls were matched for age, fasting
status, race and -- if they were obese -- body
mass index (BMI).
Mean ferritin level was 109 ng/mL among cases
and 71.7 ng/mL among controls (P<0.001). Mean
TfR/ferritin ratio was 103 among cases and 141
among controls (P=0.01).
A conditional logistic regression model that
controlled for BMI, family history of diabetes,
physical activity, smoking, alcohol use and menopausal
status was used to estimate the relative risk
diabetes by quintiles of ferritin and TfR/ferritin.
Women in the highest quintile of ferritin concentration
were 2.66 times more likely to have diabetes,
compared with those in the lowest quintile, the
study showed. And women in the lowest quintile
for TfR/ferritin ratio were 2.42 times more likely
to develop the disease, compared with those in
the highest quintile, Dr. Jiang said.
Further adjustment for levels of C-reactive protein
and interleukin-6, and for dietary variables did
not significantly change the results, she said.
If the findings from the current observational
trial are confirmed in future studies, "a
simple blood test could be used to identify women
at high risk for diabetes," Dr. Jiang said.
[Study title: Body Iron Stores in Relation To
Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Women. Abstract 306-OR]
================================
Did YOU KNOW: Recent studies have
shown that people suffering from depression have
subtle problems with heart rate regulation. And
it has long been known that their blood platelets
can be "sticky" — that is, likely
to cause clots. The drugs used to treat depression
by affecting the brain's use of the chemical serotonin
also tend to reduce the abnormalities in heart
rhythm and blood clotting. For cardiac patients,
these antidepressants may act primarily as blood
thinners, a complicated form of baby aspirin.
