Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2009 May;11(5):472-9.
doi: 10.1111/j.1463-1326.2008.00985.x. Epub 2009 Jan 21.

Biomarkers of body iron stores and risk of developing type 2 diabetes

S N Rajpathak  1 , J Wylie-Rosett, M J Gunter, A Negassa, G C Kabat, T E Rohan, J Crandall; Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) Research Group
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Biomarkers of body iron stores and risk of developing type 2 diabetes

S N Rajpathak et al. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2009 May.

Abstract

Aim: Iron may contribute to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) by inducing oxidative stress and interfering with insulin secretion. Elevated ferritin levels are associated with increased DM risk among healthy individuals. However, it is yet unknown if ferritin predicts DM incidence among high-risk individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Furthermore, the association between soluble transferrin receptors (sTfR), a novel marker of iron status, and DM risk has not yet been prospectively investigated in these individuals. We conducted this study to evaluate the association between baseline levels of ferritin and sTfR and the risk of developing DM among overweight and obese individuals at high risk of DM.

Methods: This nested case-control study (280 cases and 280 matched controls) was conducted within the placebo arm of the Diabetes Prevention Program, is a clinical trial conducted among overweight/obese individuals with IGT. Ferritin and sTfR levels were measured by immunoturbidimetric assays. Incident DM was ascertained by annual 75-g oral glucose tolerance test and semi-annual fasting glucose.

Results: Compared with controls, cases had higher sTfR levels (3.50 +/- 0.07 vs. 3.30 +/- 0.06 mg/l; p = 0.03), but ferritin levels were not statistically different. The multivariable odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for DM incidence comparing highest with the lowest quartiles of sTfR was 2.26 (1.37-4.01) (p-trend: 0.008).

Conclusions: Modestly elevated sTfR levels are associated with increased DM risk among overweight and obese individuals with IGT. Future studies should evaluate factors determining sTfR levels and examine if interventions that lower body iron stores reduce DM incidence.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Puntarulo S. Iron, oxidative stress and human health. Mol Aspects Med. 2005 Aug-Oct;26(4-5):299–312. - PubMed
    1. Huang X. Iron overload and its association with cancer risk in humans: evidence for iron as a carcinogenic metal. Mutat Res. 2003 Dec 10;533(1-2):153–171. - PubMed
    1. Nelson RL. Iron and colorectal cancer risk: human studies. Nutr Rev. 2001 May;59(5):140–148. - PubMed
    1. Sullivan JL. Iron and coronary heart disease. Iron makes myocardium vulnerable to ischemia. Bmj. 1993 Oct 23;307(6911):1066–1067. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ascherio A, Willett WC. Are body iron stores related to the risk of coronary heart disease? N Engl J Med. 1994 Apr 21;330(16):1152–1154. - PubMed

Publication types