Threshold ferritin and hepcidin concentrations indicating early iron deficiency in young women based on upregulation of iron absorption.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Plasma ferritin is a widely used indicator to detect iron deficiency, but the threshold ferritin that defines iron deficiency remains uncertain. Our aim was to define the ferritin concentration at which the body begins to upregulate iron absorption from the diet; this could provide a functionally-defined threshold of incipient iron deficiency. We hypothesized this threshold ferritin concentration would correspond to the threshold hepcidin concentration at which iron absorption begins to increase.

Methods

We performed a pooled analysis of our stable iron isotope studies (n = 1058) conducted from 2006 to 2019 in healthy women (age 18-50 years; mean±SD ferritin 33.7 ± 27.1 μg/L) that measured iron absorption from labeled test meals providing physiological amou

SUBMITTER: Galetti V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8350021 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature