The relationship between iron metabolism markers and parameters of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in patients with overweight and obesity

Background: Hyperferritinemia associated with obesity and insulin resistance is a link between the components of the metabolic syndrome and a possible triggering factor in the pathogenesis of carbohydrate metabolism disorders and dyslipidemia. Aim: To establish possible relationships between ferrokinetic parameters, parameters of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in overweight and obese patients, and to analyze the possibility of using iron metabolism parameters (ferritin and serum iron) as predictors of carbohydrate metabolism disorders in this cohort of patients. Material and Methods. The study included 52 overweight or obese patients. In the course of the study, patients were stratified into groups depending on the presence of carbohydrate metabolism disorders (CMD), and depending on the state of iron metabolism. Among all patients included in the study, an assessment of anthropometric data, a study of glycated hemoglobin, a standard glucose tolerance test with 75 g of glucose, a study of hematological parameters, as well as biochemical parameters of iron metabolism – the concentration of serum iron, transferrin and ferritin, was carried out. Results. Patients with CMD – impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glycaemia – had significantly higher serum ferritin levels than obese patients without CMD (p = 0.019). In persons with a high level of ferritin, CMD developed significantly more often than in patients with a ferritin content in the range below the 75th percentile (χ2 = 5.278, p = 0.022). According to the ROC analysis, ferritin showed a rather high sensitivity – 75%, and specificity – 84.4% at a diagnostic threshold of 126.65 ng/ml (area under the curve = 0.738; p = 0.016) in the diagnosis of prediabetes (IGT/IFG) in overweight and obese individuals. Conclusion. High concentrations of iron and ferritin are positively associated with CMD, with ferritin being a promising predictor of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus.