Relation between Serum Ferritin Level and the Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction

An association between increased incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and elevated levels of stored iron concentration was recently reported. The data in India regarding association between AMI and levels of serum ferritin are lacking.

To study the association between serum ferritin level and risk of AMI.

The present case-control study was conducted from May 2016 to October 2017 on 64 patients aged ≥30 years of either sex who were diagnosed with AMI (group I) and 60 controls (group II). Patients who attended outpatient department of hospital for minor illnesses, routine health checkups, and persons accompanying patients were selected randomly as controls. The controls had no signs of AMI or coronary heart disease (CHD) on clinical examination and had normal electrocardiogram (ECG). Quantitative measurement of serum ferritin was done in all subjects. The Chi-square or Fisher's exact test and unpaired t-test were used to compare the categorical and quantitative variables, respectively. The independent association of serum ferritin with AMI was tested using multivariate logistic regression analysis.

The mean serum ferritin level was significantly higher in group I (203.5 µg/L) as compared to group II (111.8 µg/L). In group I, 82.9% patients had serum ferritin ≥150 µg/L as compared to group II (15.0%) with p-value = 0.001. Multivariate analysis showed history of smoking, body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m2 , serum ferritin levels >200 µg/L, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level <35mg/dL were independent and significant determinants of AMI.

There was an association between elevated serum ferritin levels with AMI.