Difference of serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) level between healthy adults and children, and correlation to serum ferritin level / 대한임상병리학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) level has been reported to be a sensitive indicator of tissue iron deficiency and also reflects the erythropoietic activity in bone marrow. As little is known about the difference of sTfR between adults and children in Korea, authors tried to determine the changes of sTfR level according to the age in apparently healthy subjects. And we also defined the correlation between sTfR and iron parameters. METHODS: A total of 522 healthy population without anemia was investigated for the sTfR level and the evidence of iron deficiency. The population was divided into 4 groups according to age, i.e., adults aged 23 to 58 years (n=110), adolescents aged 14 to 19 years (n=125), young children aged 3 to 7 years (n=136), and infants aged 4 to 24 months (n=151). CBC, iron parameters, and sTfR were tested and analyzed. Serum transferrin receptor was assayed by IDeATMsTfR IEMA (soluble transferrin receptor immunoenzymometric assay, Orion Diagnostica, Finland) test kits. RESULTS: The mean values of sTfR were 2.41+/-0.99 mg/L in adults and 2.10+/-1.07 mg/L in adolescents aged 17 to 19 years (P=0.214). The sTfR level in infants was 5.49+/-1.81 mg/L and significantly higher than in young children of 3.12+/-1.45 mg/L (P<0.001). The level of sTfR in male infants aged 4-24 months was 5.89 mg/L and that of female infants with same age was 5.11 mg/L (P =0.019). The sTfR level was significantly correlated with mean corpuscular volume (r=-0.67, P <0.01), total iron binding capacity (r=0.52, P <0.01), and transferrin saturation (r=-0.45, P <0.01), however ferritin level showed poor correlations with hemoglobin (r=0.11, P=0.06), serum iron (r=0.01,P =0.97), and transferrin saturation (r=0.18, P <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The mean value of sTfR is different according to the age and appears to reach adult level at the period of adolescent. On the basis of correlation study, sTfR is a more correlative indicator of iron status than ferritin. The prevalence rate of iron deficiency is still high and sufficient iron supplement is needed even in infants without anemia.