An L-Shaped Relationship Between Serum Iron and Stroke-Associated Pneumonia

Pneumonia is a common complication in patients with stroke. There was a close relationship between serum iron and inflammatory response. This study aimed to explore the relationship between serum iron levels and stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP).

Patients with acute stroke were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University and divided into SAP group and Non-SAP group. The demographic and clinical data of the patients were collected via the medical records, and the blood samples were collected within 24 hours after admission. The predictive value of serum iron to SAP was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and binary Logistic regression models. A restricted cubic spline (RCS) was used to furtherly clarify the relationship between serum iron and the risk of SAP.

A total of 906 participants were enrolled, including Non-SAP group (n = 755) and SAP group (n = 151). Serum iron levels in the SAP group were significantly lower than those in the Non-SAP group (9.77±5.61 vs 14.01±6.80, P < 0.001). Logistic regression showed that patients with high serum iron levels (≥7.8μmol/L) showed a lower risk of SAP (OR=0.43, 95% CI, 0.27-0.69, P < 0.001). Besides, the RCS model showed that there was an L-shaped relationship between the serum iron and risk of SAP (P for non-linearity: 0.014).

Low serum iron level was a risk factor for SAP, and there was an L-shaped relationship between them. Stroke patients with low serum iron levels should be alert to the risk of SAP.