Dietary iron intake and serum ferritin in relation to 7.5 years structure and function of large arteries in the SUVIMAX cohort.
OBJECTIVE
Few studies have investigated the relationship between iron stores and measures of atherosclerosis. Most of these studies were cross-sectional and yielded conflicting results. We aimed to assess the relationship between serum ferritin concentrations and dietary iron intake measured at baseline and 7.5 year pulse wave velocity (PWV), intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaques in a group of 824 men and women without known CVD, cancer or hemochromatosis.


METHODS
The SUVIMAX study is a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled primary prevention trial designed to test the effect of antioxidant supplementation in reducing ischemic cardiovascular diseases and cancer.


RESULTS
In multivariate analyses, no association was found between baseline serum ferritin levels and IMT 7 years later (beta (95% CI)=0.003 (-0.005;0.011) in men; -0.005 (-0.013;0.004) and -0.001 (-0.011;0.009) in women, before and after menopause, respectively), plaques (OR (95% CI)=1.09 (0.88;1.34) in men; 0.93 (0.66;1.31) and 0.95 (0.70;1.29) in women, before and after menopause, respectively) or PWV (beta (95% CI)=0.078 (-0.154;0.310) in men; -0.018 (-0266;0.231) in women before and after menopause). Results for dietary iron intake were similar.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results do not support the hypothesis that dietary iron intake and body iron stores are deleterious to the structure and function of large arteries in subjects free of CVD, cancer or hemochromatosis.
Vergnaud
A C
AC
Inserm U557, Inra U1125, CNAM EA3200, Univ Paris-XIII, CRNH IdF, Unité de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle, 93017, Bobigny, France.
Bertrais
S
S
Zureik
M
M
Galan
P
P
Blacher
J
J
Hercberg
S
S
Czernichow
S
S
D001158:Arteries / Q000502:physiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood; D019266:Iron, Dietary; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods; D011674:Pulse
D015415:Biomarkers; D019266:Iron, Dietary; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron