Comparison of body fat indices with some parameters of iron metabolism in men aged 30-60 years with metabolic syndrome

Abstract

Background: Iron is a trace element that plays an active role in cell respiration and cell growth, and provides normal cellular metabolism in addition to transferring electrons to oxygen in the respiratory chain reaction. When it accumulates in excess in the liver, pancreas, and muscles, it creates toxic reactive oxygen species. This iron-induced oxidative stress is the cause of cellular metabolic disorders and damage and is involved in the development of some metabolic such as fatty liver, fibrotic changes, glucose metabolism disorders, and dyslipidemia. Increased inflammatory signaling associated with obesity and fatty liver increases hepcidin release from the liver, resulting in elevated serum ferritin and tissue iron accumulation. Therefore, excessive body fat affects the regulation of iron metabolism, and iron overload can lead to obesity-related metabolic disorders. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the relationship between body fat indices and iron overload in groups with and without metabolic syndrome using body composition, fat parameters, and iron metabolism parameters in men aged 30-60. Materials and Methods: Using a population-based analytical case-control design, 93 men with metabolic syndrome and 132 men without metabolic syndrome aged 30-60 in Ulaanbaatar were in the study, and parameters of iron metabolism and fat metabolism with compared in both groups. Results: The average age of all participants included in the study was 45.4±8.4 (cases 46.2±8.5, controls 44.8±8.3, p=0.22); average body mass index 28.1±4.9 kg/cm2 (case 30.03±3.5, control 26.8±5.3, p=0.0001); body obesity index 25.4±4.4% (case 26.7±3.6%, control 24.5±4.7%, p=0.04); The average waist and hip circumference ratio was 1.02±0.06 (cases 1.04±0.04, controls 1.003±0.06, p=0.0001). Among laboratory parameters, mean triglyceride was 152.8±175.5 mg/dl (cases 230.7±246.2, control 97.8±52.5, p=0.0001); the average HDL was 44.6±10.2 mg/dl (cases 39.1±8.6, controls 48.5±9.4, p=0.0001); mean ferritin 337.7±219.4 mg/dl (case 380.3±220.1, control 307.7±214.6, p=0.014) mean hepcidin 1.55±0.34 ng/ml (case 1.46±0.3, control 1.65±0.3, p=0.02) in both groups. There was a highly correlated relationship between fat indices. When assessing the relationship between body fat indices and ferritin, which represents iron accumulation, there was a significant difference between ferritin and Lipid accumulation product index (r=0.134; p=0.044), Atherogenic index of plasma (r=0.246; p=0.0001), and waist-hip ratio (r=0.256; p=0.0001). There is even a weak direct correlation, and the increase in serum ferritin is statistically significant when fat indices increase. Also, ferritin has a statistically meaningful weak correlation with BMI (r=0.166; p=0.013) and WHR (r=0.256; p=0.0001). The case group was 2.36 times more likely to develop iron accumulation than the control group OR=2.36 (95% CI 1.37-4.06). Conclusions: 1. BMI, waist-hip ratio, serum TG content were high, and HDL was statistically significant in the group of cases with metabolic syndrome. Body adiposity indices of VAI, LAP, TyG, and AIP were high with statistically significantly. These indicators increase with the increase of the metabolic syndrome score, which indicates that they are related to metabolic disorders. 2. Serum ferritin levels in the case group with metabolic syndrome were statistically significantly higher than those in the control group without metabolic syndrome. Serum ferritin levels are weakly quantitatively correlated with body fat indices, suggesting that disturbances in lipid metabolism may contribute to iron overload. Individuals with metabolic syndrome were 2.36 times more likely to develop iron accumulation than those without metabolic syndrome.