Serum soluble transferrin receptor concentrations are increased in central obesity. Results from a screening programme for hereditary hemochromatosis in men with hyperferritinemia.
BACKGROUND
A decrease in the serum concentrations of the soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is considered a good index of tissue iron. Because obesity is associated with hyperferritinemia and this is considered a sign of iron overload, a decrease in sTfR would be expected for the obese. We evaluated whether obese men with hyperferritinemia, detected in a genetic screening programme for hereditary hemochromatosis (HH), have lower serum concentrations of sTfR than their non-obese counterparts.


METHODS
75 men (age: 55.4+/-12.4 years) with hyperferritinemia (serum ferritin--SF > 200 microg/L) and no known conditions of iron overload were evaluated for body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), blood pressure, traditional indices of iron status, sTfR, fasting plasma glucose, lipid profile, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), highly-sensitive C-reactive protein, hepatic enzymes and HFE gene mutations of HH.


RESULTS
sTfR correlated with BMI (r=0.289; p=0.014) and with WC (r=0.420; p<0.001). Thirty-two subjects were obese (BM > or = 30 kg/m(2)) and had a significantly higher sTfR (2.95 (2.22-3.28) vs 2.28 (1.88-2.91) mg/L; p=0.013), hemoglobin (157+/-12 vs 152+/-11 gr/L; p=0.049) and HOMA-IR (1.38 (1.04-2.69) vs 1.02 (0.60-1.55) mg/L; p=0.009) than the non-obese. WC explained separately more variability of the sTfR than BMI (r(2)=0.177; p=0.002 and r=0.077; p=0.042, respectively), after adjusting for potential confounders.


CONCLUSIONS
An increase in serum concentrations of sTfR is associated with central obesity in men with hyperferritinemia.
Freixenet
Núria
N
Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Nutrition, Hospital de Sabadell, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain.
Remacha
Angel
A
Berlanga
Eugenio
E
Caixàs
Assumpta
A
Giménez-Palop
Olga
O
Blanco-Vaca
Francisco
F
Bach
Vanessa
V
Baiget
Montserrat
M
Sánchez
Yolanda
Y
Félez
Jordi
J
González-Clemente
José Miguel
JM
D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005293:Ferritins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006432:Hemochromatosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility
D011990:Receptors, Transferrin; D005293:Ferritins