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High risk of cardiovascular disease in iron overload patients

Tomás Meroño1, Leonardo Gómez, Leonardo G Rosso

  • 1Tomàs Meroño, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. tomasmero@yahoo.com.ar

European Journal of Clinical Investigation
|December 7, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Iron overload is linked to insulin resistance and adverse lipid profiles, increasing cardiovascular disease risk. These metabolic changes are associated with elevated iron stores.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Metabolic Disorders

Background:

  • Iron overload (IO) involves increased storage iron, with its role in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis being debated.
  • Understanding the metabolic consequences of IO is crucial for assessing cardiovascular risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate markers of insulin resistance, lipoprotein profiles, antioxidant/prooxidant enzyme activities, and cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) in patients with IO.
  • To explore the relationship between iron stores and these metabolic parameters.

Main Methods:

  • Compared 20 male patients with IO to 20 age- and sex-matched controls.
  • Assessed general biochemical parameters, lipoprotein profiles, paraoxonase 1 (PON, ARE), Lp-PLA(2), and CETP activities.
  • Utilized multiple regression analyses to identify independent predictors.

Main Results:

  • IO patients exhibited higher HOMA-IR, triglycerides, and oxidized LDL, with lower HDL cholesterol compared to controls.
  • Decreased paraoxonase 1 activity and increased CETP and Lp-PLA(2) activities were observed in IO patients.
  • Ferritin concentration correlated with altered lipid metabolism, and HOMA-IR predicted CETP activity, while ferritin predicted Lp-PLA(2) activity.

Conclusions:

  • Patients with IO demonstrate insulin resistance and metabolic dysregulation linked to iron accumulation.
  • These findings suggest that IO is associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease.
Abstract

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