Serum ferritin is linked with aortic stiffness in apparently healthy Korean women

There has been strong recent interest in the association between serum ferritin concentrations and increased risk of cardiovascular events. Surplus nutrition and convenience-seeking behavior has contributed to emergence of an increasingly obese population, with a concurrent increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. To date, few studies have specifically examined the association between serum ferritin and aortic stiffness in healthy populations, thus we investigated the association between serum ferritin and aortic stiffness according to sex and obesity in healthy subjects.

From a register of 196 healthy subjects (146 males, 50 females) 23 to 76 years of age, we measured BMI, serum ferritin, blood pressures, metabolic variables, and brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). The average baPWV, serum ferritin and the sociodemographic prevalence (smoking, alcohol, and exercise) were higher in men than women. There was a positive association between serum ferritin and baPWV (R = 0.02) in total subjects after adjusting for age, sex, and blood pressures. The association between serum ferritin and baPWV (R = 0.099) in women was positive, yet negative in men (R = -0.007). The average baPWV and serum ferritin were highest in obese men, on the other hand lowest in nonobese women among 4 groups according to sex and obesity.

In conclusion, there was a stronger association between serum ferritin and PWV in healthy Korean women than men. Our finding suggests that cardiovascular risk factor monitoring through baPWV should be considered for even apparently healthy Korean women.