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Iron and heart disease: the epidemiologic data

C T Sempos¹, A C Looker, R F Gillum

¹Department of Internal Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.

Nutrition Reviews

|March 1, 1996

Summary

Oxidative stress theory suggests iron may increase heart disease risk. However, most studies show no link between higher body iron stores and increased coronary heart disease risk.

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Area of Science:

Biomedical Science
Cardiovascular Research
Oxidative Stress

Background:

The Oxidative Stress Theory proposes that free radicals contribute to chronic disease pathogenesis.
Iron's role in catalyzing free radical production suggests a potential link to increased coronary heart disease (CHD) risk.
Initial studies indicated a correlation between elevated body iron stores and higher heart attack incidence.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the hypothesis that increased body iron stores elevate the risk of coronary heart disease.
To synthesize existing epidemiologic data on the relationship between iron levels and CHD.

Main Methods:

Review of prospective epidemiologic studies.
Analysis of cross-sectional studies.
Examination of case-control and autopsy studies.

Main Results:

One Finnish study suggested a positive correlation between serum ferritin levels and heart attack risk.
The majority of subsequent epidemiologic research has not supported this initial finding.
Extensive data from various study designs failed to establish a link between high iron stores and increased CHD risk.

Conclusions:

The hypothesis that high body iron stores increase coronary heart disease risk is not supported by the bulk of scientific evidence.
Further research may be needed to fully elucidate the complex relationship between iron metabolism and cardiovascular health.
Current evidence does not support iron reduction as a strategy for preventing coronary heart disease based on oxidative stress theory.

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