title: Ferroportin Q248h, dietary iron, and serum ferritin in community African-Americans with low to high alcohol consumption.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alcohol consumption is associated with increased iron stores. In sub-Saharan Africa, high dietary ionic iron and the ferroportin Q248H allele have also been implicated in iron accumulation. We examined the associations of ferroportin Q248H, alcohol and dietary iron with serum ferritin, aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) and alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) concentrations in African-Americans.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inner-city African-Americans (103 men, 40 women) were recruited from the community according to reported ingestion of >4 alcoholic drinks/d or <2/wk. Typical daily heme iron, nonheme iron and alcohol were estimated using University of Hawaii's multiethnic dietary questionnaire. Based on dietary questionnaire estimates we established categories of < versus > or =56 g alcohol/d, equivalent to 4 alcoholic drinks/d assuming 14 g alcohol per drink.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 143 participants, 77% drank <56 g alcohol/d and 23%> or =56 g/d as estimated by the questionnaire. The prevalence of ferroportin Q248H was 23.3% with alcohol >56 g/d versus 7.5% with lower amounts (p = 0.014). Among subjects with no history of HIV disease, serum ferritin concentration had positive relationships with male gender (p = 0.041), alcohol consumption (p = 0.021) and ALT concentration (p = 0.0001) but not with dietary iron intake or ferroportin Q248H. Serum AST and ALT concentrations had significant positive associations with male gender and hepatitis C seropositivity but not with alcohol or dietary iron intake or ferroportin Q248H.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest a higher prevalence of ferroportin Q248H with greater alcohol consumption, and this higher prevalence raises the possibility that the allele might ameliorate the toxicity of alcohol. Our results suggest that alcohol but not dietary iron contributes to higher body iron stores in African-Americans. Studies with larger numbers of participants are needed to further clarify the relationship of ferroportin Q248H with the toxicity of alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Howard University, Washington, DC 20060, USA. vgordeuk@howard.edu
authors.forename: Victor R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Gordeuk
authors.forename: Sharmin F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Gladys O
authors.initials: GO
authors.lastname: Onojobi
authors.forename: Ishmael
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kasvosve
authors.forename: Zufan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Debebe
authors.forename: Amanuel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Edossa
authors.forename: Jeremy M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pantin
authors.forename: Shigang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Sergei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nekhai
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nouraie
authors.forename: Hidekazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsukamoto
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000235:genetics*; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000483:Alleles; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D006306:Health Surveys; D006420:Hemeproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D019266:Iron, Dietary / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014505:Urban Population; D000098742:Ferroportin
chemical_list: D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D006420:Hemeproteins; D019266:Iron, Dietary; C073694:haemoferritin; D000098742:Ferroportin; D005293:Ferritins; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase
references.citation: J Clin Invest. 1956 Jun;35(6):588-95
references.pmid: 13319494
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2002 Aug;26(8 Suppl):26S-31S
references.pmid: 12198371
references.citation: J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2005 Dec;20(12):1855-8
references.pmid: 16336444
references.citation: Gastroenterology. 1992 Jun;102(6):2108-13
references.pmid: 1587431
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Dec;76(6):1375-84
references.pmid: 12450906
references.citation: Eur J Endocrinol. 2006 Feb;154(2):333-40
references.pmid: 16452549
references.citation: Genet Test. 2005 Fall;9(3):231-41
references.pmid: 16225403
references.citation: Blood Cells Mol Dis. 2003 Nov-Dec;31(3):305-9
references.pmid: 14636643
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Dec;78(6):1160-7
references.pmid: 14668279
references.citation: J Membr Biol. 2005 Jul;206(1):3-7
references.pmid: 16440176
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 1992 Jan 9;326(2):95-100
references.pmid: 1727237
references.citation: Nature. 2000 Feb 17;403(6771):776-81
references.pmid: 10693807
references.citation: Blood. 2005 Aug 1;106(3):1092-7
references.pmid: 15831700
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2005 Nov;29(11 Suppl):189S-93S
references.pmid: 16344607
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 1990 Feb;51(2):301-8
references.pmid: 2407101
references.citation: J Biol Chem. 2000 Jun 30;275(26):19906-12
references.pmid: 10747949
references.citation: J Nutr. 2002 May;132(5):996-1001
references.pmid: 11983827
references.citation: Clin Chem. 1990 Jul;36(7):1350-5
references.pmid: 2372951
references.citation: Blood. 1997 Mar 15;89(6):2159-66
references.pmid: 9058740
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Jul;76(1):156-64
references.pmid: 12081829
references.citation: Alcohol. 2003 Jun;30(2):131-6
references.pmid: 12957297
references.citation: Gastroenterology. 1970 May;58(5):647-54
references.pmid: 5444168
references.citation: J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 1999 Mar;14(3):202-14
references.pmid: 10197487
references.citation: Blood Cells Mol Dis. 2007 May-Jun;38(3):247-52
references.pmid: 17276706
references.citation: Blood Cells Mol Dis. 2003 Nov-Dec;31(3):310-9
references.pmid: 14636644
references.citation: Cell. 2005 Sep 9;122(5):789-801
references.pmid: 16143108
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Jan;31(1):138-43
references.pmid: 17207112
references.citation: Clin Chim Acta. 2000 Mar;293(1-2):127-38
references.pmid: 10699428
references.citation: S Afr Med J. 1984 Oct 13;66(15):573-5
references.pmid: 6149624
references.citation: Blood. 1998 Feb 1;91(3):1076-82
references.pmid: 9446671
references.citation: Blood. 2005 May 15;105(10):4096-102
references.pmid: 15692071
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2000 Feb 15;151(4):358-70
references.pmid: 10695594
references.citation: Blood. 1999 Jun 15;93(12):4406-17
references.pmid: 10361139
references.citation: Ann Hematol. 1996 Mar;72(3):145-51
references.pmid: 8766257
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 1998 Apr;67(4):722-33
references.pmid: 9537620
references.citation: J Lab Clin Med. 1968 Mar;71(3):517-22
references.pmid: 4868952
references.citation: Nature. 1997 Jul 31;388(6641):482-8
references.pmid: 9242408
references.citation: Clin Liver Dis. 2000 Feb;4(1):115-31, vii
references.pmid: 11232180
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Nov;82(5):1102-6
references.pmid: 16280445
references.citation: Blood Cells Mol Dis. 2003 Nov-Dec;31(3):299-304
references.pmid: 14636642
references.citation: Gastroenterology. 1967 Jul;53(1):5-10
references.pmid: 6067462
references.citation: Mol Cell. 2000 Feb;5(2):299-309
references.pmid: 10882071
references.citation: J Clin Invest. 1995 Jul;96(1):620-30
references.pmid: 7615836
references.citation: S Afr Med J. 1990 Sep 15;78(6):301-5
references.pmid: 1975706
references.citation: Gastroenterology. 1975 Mar;68(3):525-33
references.pmid: 1112454
references.citation: Lancet. 1986 Jun 7;1(8493):1310-3
references.pmid: 2872439
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Jan;31(1 Suppl):S2-8
references.pmid: 17331161