title: Serum ferritin and nutritional status: insights from an eating disorders clinic population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the relationship between serum ferritin and malnutrition in newly assessed patients at a paediatric eating disorders clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospectively assessed clinical cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intake assessment clinic of a tertiary eating disorders service for children and adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical, anthropometric and laboratory features of children and adolescents were systematically measured. The relationship of serum ferritin to other clinical, anthropometric and laboratory measures was determined using linear regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 121 female patients aged 9.5-17.6 years were included, with body mass index (BMI) z score -5.7 to 1.9 (median -1.3). Using multiple regression, serum ferritin was inversely associated with BMI z score (regression coefficient (β)=-0.234, 95% CI -0.413 to -0.055) and serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) (β=-0.476, 95% CI -0.884 to -0.068) and positively associated with alanine aminotransferase (β=0.357, 95% CI 0.055 to 0.659, controlling for age, pubertal stage and serum iron).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In malnourished adolescents with eating disorders increased serum ferritin is associated with lower BMI z score and serum IGF-1.
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology Department, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, , Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Kuria
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nemba
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Hunna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Kimberley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hoiles
authors.forename: Guicheng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Forbes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000886:Anthropometry; D001315:Australia; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000097:blood*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D005293:Ferritins