Abstract
We investigated the correlations of serum and dietary intake of iron with low-grade inflammation as well as with circulating hepcidin in adult Arabs with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Three hundred and twelve (N=312) Saudi adult males and females with a mean age of 56.3 ± 6.5 years were included and divided into two groups, the control group (n=151, 43 males, 108 females), and T2DM group (n=161, 58 males, 103 females). Data included demographic characteristics, medical history, and dietary intake using food frequency and a 24-hour dietary recall for 1 day. Anthropometric measurements were noted and fasting blood samples extracted for the analysis of glucose, lipids, iron indices, hepcidin, 25(OH)D and endotoxin using commercially available assays. Hepcidin levels among T2DM participants were significantly higher than the control group (P<0.001). In all participants, serum hepcidin was positively associated with WHR, HbA1c, TG and TSAT while inversely associated with LDL-C and ferritin. Using hepcidin as dependent variable and age, anthropometrics, blood pressure, glucose, lipids, 25(OH)D, serum iron, transferrin and ferritin as independent variables showed that only glucose and WHR significantly predicted hepcidin by as much as 33.5% of the variances perceived (P<0.001). Sub-analysis in female participants revealed that endotoxin, iron and 25(OH)D were significant predictors of hepcidin, predicting 26.8% of the variances perceived (P<0.001). To conclude, the present study suggests that hepcidin is significantly linked with major cardiometabolic parameters, while its influence in iron indices, including low grade inflammation, appears to be stronger in females.