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Serum ferritin concentrations in Africans with low dietary iron

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Abstract

In the setting of high dietary, several studies have provided evidence for a strong effect of both high dietary iron and an unidentified genetic locus on iron stores in Africans. To investigate whether these effects are discernible in the setting of low dietary iron, serum ferritin concentrations were measured in 194 Zimbabwean men >30 years of age and 299 postmenopausal women who consumed a non-iron-fortified diet and who did not drink iron-rich traditional beer or other alcoholic beverages. Comparisons were made with non-alcohol drinking African-Americans studied in the third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES III) who consume an iron-fortified diet. As stratified by age and sex, serum ferritin concentrations were significantly lower in the 493 Zimbabweans studied than in 1,380 comparable African-Americans (P < 0.0005). Nevertheless, nine Zimbabwean subjects (1.8% of all cases) had modestly elevated serum ferritin concentrations not associated with evidence of inflammation or hepatic dysfunction. These data suggest that mild serum ferritin concentration elevations may occur among Zimbabweans not exposed to high dietary iron and that iron fortification of the diet may have substantial effects on serum ferritin concentration.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Affairs, Oncology/Hematology, Ortho Biotech LLC, Bridgewater, NJ, USA

    Victor M. Moyo

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Georgetown Hospital, Washington, DC, USA

    Elisha Mvundura

  3. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Hlosukwazi Khumalo

  4. Department of Medicine, University of Zimbabwe Medical School, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Innocent T. Gangaidzo & Thokozile Saungweme

  5. Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Tracey A. Rouault

  6. Chemical Pathology, University of Zimbabwe Medical School, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Zvenyika A. R. Gomo

  7. The Department of Medicine and Center for Sickle Cell Disease, Howard University, 2041 Georgia Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 20060, USA

    Mehdi Nouraie & Victor R. Gordeuk

Authors
  1. Victor M. Moyo
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  2. Elisha Mvundura
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  3. Hlosukwazi Khumalo
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  4. Innocent T. Gangaidzo
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  5. Thokozile Saungweme
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  6. Mehdi Nouraie
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  7. Tracey A. Rouault
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  8. Zvenyika A. R. Gomo
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  9. Victor R. Gordeuk
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Victor R. Gordeuk.

Additional information

This study was supported in part by the NIH research grant no. UH1-HL03679-07 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the Office of Research on Minority Health and by Howard University General Clinical Research Center grant no. MO1-RR10284, by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development contract no. 1-HD-3-3196, by a grant from the J.F. Kapnek Charitable Trust (Philadelphia, PA), and by a grant allocation from the Research Board of the University of Zimbabwe (Harare, Zimbabwe).

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Moyo, V.M., Mvundura, E., Khumalo, H. et al. Serum ferritin concentrations in Africans with low dietary iron. Ann Hematol 88, 1131–1136 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-009-0718-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-009-0718-6

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