Serum ferritin level is higher in poorly controlled patients with type 2 diabetes and people without diabetes, aged over 55 years

Aims: Diabetes mellitus has been increasing in Mongolia. There is also growing concern about the relationship between iron stores and the severity of type 2 diabetes. In this study, we aimed to evaluate serum ferritin level among Mongolian individuals with and without diabetes.

Methods: Of 254 participants, a total of 99 previously diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes and the same numbers of subjects without diabetes were enrolled and invited to a physical examination (BMI, central obesity, blood pressure) and fasting blood tests (fasting blood glucose, HbA1c , serum ferritin, C-reactive protein, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transferase).

Results: Serum ferritin was higher in the patients with type 2 diabetes compared with the control group without diabetes, with a significant difference in the female groups (341.6 ± 67.2 and 159.1 ± 36.8 ng/ml respectively, P = 0.019). Of the patients with type 2 diabetes, 43.4% had hyperferritinaemia, and 21.2% of the individuals without diabetes had hyperferritinaemia. In the group with type 2 diabetes, serum ferritin level was significantly higher in the group of women whose HbA1c was ≥ 53 mmol/mol (7.0%) compared with the other group of women whose HbA1c was < 53 mmol/mol (7.0%) (562.1 ± 122.1 and 220.5 ± 78.7 ng/ml respectively, P = 0.025). We also found that the subjects without diabetes, aged over 55 years, are at risk of increased serum ferritin.

Conclusion: Poorly controlled patients with type 2 diabetes and people without diabetes of over 55 years of age are likely to be at a higher risk of developing hyperferritinaemia. Thus, regular assessments of serum ferritin might be important for those who are at risk of hyperferritnaemia for prevention and an early intervention.