Dietary factors associated with high serum ferritin levels in postmenopausal women with the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V), 2010-2012

Iron Status and Associated Factors among Canadian Women: Results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey

BACKGROUND

Iron deficiency and overload may negatively impact women's health. There has been limited assessment of iron status and its associated factors among Canadian women.

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated associations of various sociodemographic, lifestyle, medication, and dietary factors with body iron stores among pre- and postmenopausal women in Canada.

METHODS

Analyses were conducted using cross-sectional, nationally representative survey and biomarker data from women aged 20-79 y (n = 6362) in the Canadian Health Measures Survey (2009-2017). Body iron stores were assessed by measuring serum concentrations of ferritin (SF). Information on potential correlates was collected during an in-home interview. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate associations with SF concentration, and logistic regression was used to estimate associations with iron deficiency (SF <15 μg/L) or elevated iron stores (SF >150 μg/L).

RESULTS

Geometric mean SF concentrations were significantly higher in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women (73.2 versus 33.8 μg/L; P < 0.001). The prevalence of iron deficiency among pre- and postmenopausal women was 16.0% and 4.0%, respectively, whereas that of elevated iron stores was 2.7% and 21.0%, respectively. After simultaneous adjustment for multiple factors, including high-sensitivity CRP (inflammation marker), we found that age, East/Southeast Asian (versus White) race/ethnicity, alcohol, and red meat consumption were positively associated with SF concentration among pre- and postmenopausal women. In addition, aspirin use and dairy consumption were inversely associated with SF concentration among postmenopausal women only. Similar patterns were observed for associations with elevated iron stores among postmenopausal women, whereas higher grain consumption was associated with an increased prevalence of iron deficiency among premenopausal women.

CONCLUSIONS

Sociodemographic, lifestyle, medication, and dietary factors are correlated with iron status determined by SF concentration among Canadian women. The findings may have implications for intervention strategies aimed at optimizing body iron stores in pre- and postmenopausal women.

Reduction in Ferritin Concentrations among Patients Consuming a Dark-Green Leafy Vegetable-Rich, Low Inflammatory Foods Everyday (LIFE) Diet

Background

Ferritin is an iron-containing protein and acute-phase reactant, which may be elevated due to systemic iron overload or inflammation. Various diseases are associated with excess iron, but therapeutic iron chelation is suboptimal. Prior studies suggest that several plant phytochemicals possess iron-chelating properties, indicating that a plant-based diet may benefit patients with iron overload.

Objectives

The aim was to investigate whether patients who consume a nutrient-dense, dark-green leafy vegetable-rich diet, called the Low Inflammatory Foods Everyday (LIFE) diet, experience reductions in ferritin concentrations.

Methods

This was a retrospective study in which patients were intensively counseled to follow the LIFE diet. Compliance was assessed by patient interviews and serum B-carotene measurements. Primary outcomes included changes in ferritin, B-carotene, and C-reactive protein (CRP). Patients with elevated CRP concentrations at baseline were excluded in order to separate the impact of inflammation from iron overload on ferritin concentrations. Premenopausal women, who lose iron from menstruation, were also excluded.

Results

Thirty-two patients met the inclusion criteria. The median follow-up was 183 d.   Following the dietary intervention, ferritin decreased (-81 μg/L, P = 0.006) and B-carotene increased (46 μg/L, P < 0.0001), whereas CRP remained unchanged (-0.02 mg/L, P = 0.86). Adherent patients had greater reductions in ferritin compared with nonadherent patients (-138 μg/L vs. 15 μg/L, P = 0.001). Among all patients, there was an inverse relation between B-carotene and ferritin (-2.02, P = 0.03).

Conclusions

The LIFE diet, or similar dark-green leafy vegetable-rich, whole-food plant-based diets, may benefit patients with disorders of iron overload and iron-induced oxidative stress.

The Addition of Ferritin Enhanced the Prognostic Value of International Prognostic Index in Diffuse Large B‐Cell Lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a highly heterogeneous non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and the prognosis of DLBCL patients is widely affected by multivariables. Clinical-factors-based prognostic systems stratify the prognosis of DLBCL with certain limitations, and the value of ferritin on the prognosis of DLBCL is unclear. In this study, 225 cases were retrieved from 4 centers of Huaihai Lymphoma Working Group (HHLWG) as the derivation cohort, and 66 cases were from the other 6 centers of HHLWG as external validation cohort. X-Tile program divided ferritin into three groups when applying 175.00 and 391.90 μg/L as the optimal cutoff points. Based on multivariable analysis, ferritin appeared to be a stronger predictor. A total of three variables (ferritin, age, and lactate dehydrogenase) were included for the development of the nomogram. The C-indexes were 0.73 and 0.70 in the derivation and validation cohort, and the calibration curve showed the consistency between the nomogram prediction and the actual observation. In conclusion, Ferritin-based nomogram enhanced the prognostic value of IPI in DLBCL.

Association of Habitual Dietary Intake with Liver Iron-A Population-Based Imaging Study

Iron-related disorders of the liver can result in serious health conditions, such as liver cirrhosis. Evidence on the role of modifiable lifestyle factors like nutrition in liver iron storage is lacking. Thus, we aimed to assess the association of habitual diet with liver iron content (LIC). We investigated 303 participants from the population-based KORA-MRI study who underwent whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Dietary habits were evaluated using repeated 24 h food lists and a food frequency questionnaire. Sex-stratified multiple linear regression models were applied to quantify the association between nutrition variables of interest and LIC, adjusting for liver fat content (LFC), energy intake, and age. Mean age of participants was 56.4 ± 9.0 years and 44.2% were female. Mean LIC was 1.23 ± 0.12 mg/g dry weight, with higher values in men than in women (1.26 ± 0.13 and 1.20 ± 0.10 mg/g, p < 0.001). Alcohol intake was positively associated with LIC (men: β = 1.94; women: β = 4.98, p-values < 0.03). Significant negative associations with LIC were found for fiber (β = −5.61, p < 0.001) and potassium (β = −0.058, p = 0.034) for female participants only. Furthermore, LIC was highly correlated with liver fat content in both sexes. Our findings suggests that there are sex-specific associations of habitual dietary intake and LIC. Alcohol, fiber, and potassium may play a considerable role in liver iron metabolism.

D-Dimer and Serum ferritin as an Independent Risk Factor for Severity in COVID-19 Patients

Ferritin is an intracellular blood protein that contains iron, covid-19 diseases is an infectious disease caused by a virus called corona virus, the infected person mostly experiences mild to moderate respiratory illness ferritin level in blood mostly depend on severity of the covid-19 disease. Ferritin level could be used as an indicator for the covid-19 disease. Within 120 corona virus patients that used as individual in this study, the ferritin level in the blood were tested, also each of (D-Dimer, ESR, C.R protein) Depend on the results, the patients with over 60 years have a high ferritin level also the d-dimer were abnormal with 65% higher than normal range.

Selection of key foods for the systematic management of a food and nutrient composition database

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Food composition databases are necessary for assessing dietary intakes. Developing and maintaining a high quality database is difficult because of the high cost of analyzing nutrient profiles and the recent fast-changing food marketplace. Thus, priorities have to be set for developing and updating the database. We aimed to identify key foods in the Korean diet to set priorities for future analysis of foods.

SUBJECTS/METHODS

modified the US Department of Agriculture's key food approach. First, major foods were analyzed, contributing to 75%, 80%, 85%, or 90% of each nutrient intake. Second, the cumulative contributions to nutrient intakes were compared before and after excluding the foods least commonly consumed by individuals. Third, total nutrient score for each food was calculated by summing all percent contributions times 100 for nutrients. To set priorities among the foods in the list, we sorted the score in descending order and then compared total percent contributions of foods, within the 100, 90, 85, 80, and 75 percentiles of the list. Finally, we selected the minimum list of foods contributing to at least 90% of the key nutrient intake as key items for analysis.

RESULTS

Among the 1,575 foods consumed by individuals, 456 were selected as key foods. Those foods were chosen as items above the 80 percentile of the total nutrient score, among the foods contributing at least 85% of any nutrient intake. On an average, the selected key foods contributed to more than 90% of key nutrient intake.

CONCLUSIONS

In total, 456 foods, contributing at least 90% of the key nutrient intake, were selected as key foods. This approach to select a minimum list of key foods will be helpful for systematically updating and revising food composition databases.