Influence of preclinical iron deficiency on vascular endothelial function in healthy pre-menopausal women

• Project/Area Number: 25560354
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied health science
• Research Institution: University of the Ryukyus
• Principal Investigator: MIYAGI Megumi 琉球大学, 医学部, 助教 (60632015)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2015)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,860,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥660,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000); Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
• Keywords: 血管内皮機能 / 鉄欠乏 / 貯蔵鉄 / 血管内皮前駆細胞 / 血流依存性血管拡張反応（FMD） / 可溶性トランスフェリン受容体（sTfR） / 血管内皮細胞 / ヘルスプロモーション / 潜在性鉄欠乏

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to identify the role of total body storage of iron on vascular endothelial function, we evaluated the flow-mediated dilation (FMD), oxidative stress and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in female from 20's to 40's. Calculation of the ratio of soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR)/log ferritin ratio (TfR-ferritin index) may be especially useful for estimating total body storage of iron in epidemiologic studies. Single regression analysis showed that FMD (p=0.04) and HbA1c (p=0.02) were significantly correlated with a TfR-ferritin index in pre-menopausal women (n=50). TfR-ferritin index >2 suggests the presence of iron deficiency anemia. Therefore, it appears that iron deficiency has impaired endothelial function in healthy pre-menopausal women.