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Body iron stores and the risk of coronary heart disease
C T Sempos1, A C Looker, R F Gillum
1National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
Insights
Higher body iron stores, indicated by transferrin saturation, did not increase coronary heart disease risk. However, elevated iron stores were linked to lower overall and cardiovascular mortality in white populations.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology
- Iron Metabolism and Health
Background:
- Emerging research suggests a link between elevated body iron stores and increased coronary heart disease (CHD) risk.
- This study investigates the association between transferrin saturation, a marker of iron availability, and cardiovascular outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between transferrin saturation and the risk of coronary heart disease.
- To assess the association with myocardial infarction, overall mortality, and cardiovascular mortality.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 4518 participants in the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study.
- Employed a multivariate Cox proportional-hazards model with baseline data from 1971-1974 and follow-up through 1987.
- Transferrin saturation, calculated as serum iron divided by total iron-binding capacity, served as the measure of circulating iron.
Main Results:
- No significant association was found between transferrin saturation levels and the risk of coronary heart disease or myocardial infarction in white men and women.
- A significant inverse association was observed between transferrin saturation and overall mortality and cardiovascular mortality in white participants.
- No associations were identified for clinical outcomes in Black participants, potentially due to sample size limitations.
Conclusions:
- Increased transferrin saturation levels do not correlate with a higher risk of coronary heart disease or myocardial infarction.
- Findings suggest a potential inverse relationship between body iron stores and both overall and cardiovascular mortality.
- Further research may be needed to clarify the role of iron in cardiovascular health and mortality across different populations.
Background:
Recent studies have suggested an association between higher body iron stores and the risk of coronary heart disease. To assess these findings, we examined the association between transferrin saturation and the risk of coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, overall mortality, and mortality from cardiovascular causes in a large population.
Methods:
We studied a total of 4518 men and women from the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study, using a multivariate Cox proportional-hazards model. Base-line data were collected from 1971 to 1974, with follow-up through 1987. Transferrin saturation (serum iron concentration divided by total iron-binding capacity) was used as a measure of the amount of circulating iron available to tissues.
Results:
The risk of coronary heart disease was not related to transferrin-saturation levels in white men or women. Estimates of the relative risk of coronary heart disease for the fifth quintile of transferrin saturation as compared with the first quintile were 0.72 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.51 to 1.00) for men and 0.85 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.60 to 1.21) for women. The results were similar for myocardial infarction. A significant inverse association with transferrin saturation was found for overall mortality and for mortality from cardiovascular causes in white men and women. Transferrin saturation was not associated with any of the clinical outcomes in blacks, possibly owing to the small sample.
Conclusions:
Higher transferrin-saturation levels were not associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease or myocardial infarction. On the contrary, the results indicate that there may be an inverse association of iron stores with overall mortality and with mortality from cardiovascular causes.