Serum Ferritin Concentration and Iron Stores in Atherosclerosis

Abstract

Iron is both an essential mineral nutrient and an environmental toxin. Iron is required for oxygen transport and cellular oxidative metabolism. However, iron stores rise to levels above physiologic requirements with aging, and such elevated levels have been implicated both mechanistically and epidemiologically in the pathogenesis of a number of common diseases of aging, particularly atherosclerosis.

This study was conducted to evaluate the role of serum ferritin as a risk factor for atherosclerosis.

It was carried out on 48 atherosclerotic patients classified into two groups: group (I) included 20 patients with previous thrombotic cerebrovascular stroke (CVS) and was further divided into two subgroup: group (I a) included 10 males and group (I b) included 10 females. Group (11) included 28 patients with previous myocardial infarction (ischemic heart disease: IHD) and was divided into two subgroups: group (II a) included 13 males and group (11 b) included IS females. - Sixteen healthy subjects were taken as control and were subdivided into control group a (7 males) and control group b (9 females). The following laboratory investigations were carried o•ut to all subjects included in the study: serum ferritin, iron and (TIBC), uric acid, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL-cholesterol. In all patient groups, serum ferritin, uric acid, triglycerides and cholesterol were significantly higher than control groups.

From our findings it could be concluded that elevated serum ferritin which reflects body iron stores could be considered among the risk factors for atherosclerosis. It is recommended to monitor its level in high-risk patients and to add iron chelators and antioxidants to inhibit iron catalyzed lipid peroxidation during the treatment of this high-risk group of patients.