By Ahmed El-Medany
A study by Schrage et al assessed 12,164 individuals from 3 European population-based cohorts. Absolute iron deficiency was defined as a ferritin <100g/L, with severe deficiency defined as ferritin <30g/L. Absolute and severe iron deficiency was prevalent among 60% and 16.4% of individuals, respectively. During a median follow-up of 13.3 years, 18.2% of individuals died, with 4.7% attributable to a cardiovascular (CV) cause.
After adjusting for various confounders, absolute iron deficiency was not associated with all-cause (HR = 1.08; 95% CI, 0.98-1.19; P = .12) or CV mortality (HR = 1.22; 95% CI, 1-1.48; P = .05) although was associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) development (HR = 1.2; 95% CI, 1.03-1.39; P = .01).
There was no association between severe absolute iron deficiency and CV mortality (HR = 1.01; 95% CI, 0.76-1.34; P = .95), CAD development (HR = 1.22; 95% CI, 1-1.5; P = .05) or incident stroke (HR = 1.1; 95% CI, 0.87-1.4; P = .42), but there was an association with all-cause mortality (HR = 1.28; 95% CI, 1.12-1.46; P < .001).
‘If the relationships are confirmed, the next step would be a randomised trial investigating the effect of treating iron deficiency in the general population,’ the researchers stated.
More here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ehf2.13589
Source: Schrage B, Rübsamen N, Ojeda FM, Thorand B, Peters A, Koenig W, Söderberg S, Söderberg M, Mathiesen EB, Njølstad I, Kee F. Association of iron deficiency with incident cardiovascular diseases and mortality in the general population. ESC heart failure.
