Serum ferritin is associated with carotid atherosclerotic plaques but not intima-media Thickness in patients with abnormal glucose metabolism.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the association between serum ferritin and carotid artery lesions in populations with abnormal glucose metabolism. METHODS: We included 70 participants with abnormal glucose metabolism and 170 participants with normal glucose metabolism and measured their baseline serum ferritin levels. During follow-up carotid intima-media thickness and carotid plaque were evaluated. RESULTS: Serum ferritin levels were higher in the participants with abnormal glucose metabolism (p<0.01). We further divided the patients with abnormal glucose metabolism into subgroups with and without intima-media proliferation, and found that ferritin was excluded from the final equation in the logistic regression. Furthermore, age, waist circumference, ferritin, 2h-PG, and total cholesterol were significantly different between the subgroups with and without carotid plaque. When the above data were included in a logistic regression model, the p values obtained for age, ferritin, and 2h-PG were 0.004, 0.032, and 0.011, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In the Chinese population, serum ferritin levels are significantly increased in patients with abnormal glucose metabolism. The carotid intima-media thickness showed no independent relationship with serum ferritin in patients with abnormal glucose metabolism. However, high serum ferritin is an important risk factor for carotid atherosclerosis in these patients.