Serum ferritin levels among schoolchildren and its correlation with lipid profile and adiposity

Abstract

Aim: to determine the association between serum ferritin levels, lipid profile and adiposity in school-age children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on obese and non-obese children. Weight, height, waist circumference and blood pressure were measured for all participants. Lipid profile, serum ferritin and glucose were determined and analysed through absorbance. The Spearman correlation was performed for the quantitative variables and a regression analysis was used to determine the interaction between variables. Eighty-nine children were included, with a median age of 9.0 years. Results: When comparing serum ferritin levels in normal weight group, vs. the overweight and obesity group, values were significantly higher in the latter. Serum ferritin correlated positively with BMI (Rho .282, p <0.01), waist circumference (Rho .372, p < 0.01), diastolic blood pressure (Rho .244, p < 0.05), body fat percentage (Rho .375, p < 0.001), insulin (Rho .254, p <.05) and sex (Rho .224, p <.05); and negatively with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (Rho. -221, p< 0.05). When analysing the significant variables in a multivariate regression model, sex, body mass index, waist circumference, and body fat percentage remained statistically significant (p <0.01). Conclusion: We observed associations between serum ferritin and obesity in Mexican school aged children.

Keywords

• ferritins
• lipids
• overweight
• obesity
• children