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Changes in Iron Status Biomarkers With Advancing Age According to Sex and Menopause: A Population-Based Study Publisher



Merlo F1 ; Groothof D2 ; Khatami F1, 3, 4 ; Ahanchi NS1, 3, 5 ; Wehrli F6 ; Bakker SJL2 ; Eisenga MF2 ; Muka T7
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, 3012, Switzerland
  2. 2. Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, Groningen, 9713 GZ, Netherlands
  3. 3. Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, 3012, Switzerland
  4. 4. Community Medicine Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1417613151, Iran
  5. 5. Department of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Rue de Bugnon 21, Lausanne, 1005, Switzerland
  6. 6. Dr. Risch, Lagerstrasse 30, Buchs, 9470, Switzerland
  7. 7. Epistudia, Schanzenstrasse 4a, Bern, 3008, Switzerland

Source: Journal of Clinical Medicine Published:2023


Abstract

Background: The risk of chronic diseases increases markedly with age and after menopause. An increase in bodily iron following menopause could contribute to this phenomenon of increased risk of chronic diseases. We aimed to investigate how various iron biomarkers change with advancing age, according to sex and menopausal status. Methods: We enrolled community-dwelling individuals with available information on ferritin, transferrin, iron, hepcidin, and soluble transferrin receptor levels from the Prevention of Renal and Vascular Endstage Disease study. The association of the iron biomarkers with age, sex, and menopausal status was investigated with linear regression models. Results: Mean (SD) age of the 5222 individuals (2680 women [51.3%], among whom 907 [33.8%] were premenopausal, 529 [19.7%] perimenopausal, and 785 [29.3%] postmenopausal), was 53.4 (12.0) years. Iron biomarkers showed a constant increase in women throughout their life course, in some cases at older ages surpassing values in men who, in turn, showed consistently higher levels of iron status compared to women in most age categories. Ferritin, hepcidin, and transferrin saturation levels were 3.03, 2.92, and 1.08-fold (all p < 0.001) higher in postmenopausal women compared to premenopausal. Conclusions: We found that iron accumulates differently depending on sex, age, and menopausal status. An increased iron status was identified in women, especially during and after menopause. © 2023 by the authors.
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