title: Association of insulin resistance with serum ferritin and aminotransferases-iron hypothesis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship of iron indices with diabetes mellitus (DM) in those without hemochromatosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study examined data collected during the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Only those who fasted properly and were not anemic with transferrin saturation < 45% were included (n = 6849). Insulin sensitivity and beta cell function were calculated from fasting glucose and insulin concentrations. Indices of iron metabolism were examined in the presence or absence of DM. We examined the relationship of insulin sensitivity and beta cell function with serum ferritin concentration. The influence of C-reactive protein and liver enzymes was also investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum ferritin concentration was significantly higher in diabetic subjects (P = 0.0001 to < 0.000001). The difference remained significant after adjustment for age, body mass index, alcohol consumption, and mineral/iron supplement (P = 0.03 to < 0.000001). In those who did not take insulin, serum ferritin concentration was negatively associated with insulin sensitivity (P = 0.05 to 0.00001), but not with beta cell function. The alanine aminotransferase was correlated with serum ferritin concentration (P = 0.02 to < 0.000001) but not with insulin sensitivity, suggesting the role of the liver in iron-associated insulin resistance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As most of diabetes is type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance is a cardinal feature of type 2 diabetes, disordered iron metabolism could play a role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes through its effect on liver function.
authors.affiliation: Jean Huang, Wei Feng, Ken C Chiu, Raynald Samoa, Department of Clinical Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, United States.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Jean Huang, Wei Feng, Ken C Chiu, Raynald Samoa, Department of Clinical Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, United States.
authors.forename: Rudruidee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Karnchanasorn
authors.affiliation: Jean Huang, Wei Feng, Ken C Chiu, Raynald Samoa, Department of Clinical Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, United States.
authors.forename: Horng-Yih
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Ou
authors.affiliation: Jean Huang, Wei Feng, Ken C Chiu, Raynald Samoa, Department of Clinical Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, United States.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Jean Huang, Wei Feng, Ken C Chiu, Raynald Samoa, Department of Clinical Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, United States.
authors.forename: Lee-Ming
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.affiliation: Jean Huang, Wei Feng, Ken C Chiu, Raynald Samoa, Department of Clinical Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, United States.
authors.forename: Ken C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Jean Huang, Wei Feng, Ken C Chiu, Raynald Samoa, Department of Clinical Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, United States.
authors.forename: Raynald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Samoa
keywords: Beta cell function; Diabetes mellitus; Ferritin; Insulin sensitivity; Liver