Establishment of reference intervals for serum sTfR and sTfR/lgSF in apparently healthy adults in Wuhan

Abstract

Objective To establish reference intervals for serum soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and sTfR/log serum ferritin index (sTfR/lgSF) in apparently healthy adults in the Wuhan area, so as to provide reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia. Methods A total of 273 individuals from the Wuhan Aisa General Hospital, including health examination participants and blood donors, were selected to measure sTfR, other iron metabolism indicators and high sensitivity C-reactive protein(hsCRP). The sTfR/lgSF values were calculated and reference intervals for sTfR and sTfR /lgSF were established using the percentile method (P2.5 to P97.5). Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationships between sTfR, sTfR/lgSF, and other iron metabolism indicators, as well as hsCRP. Results The sTfR levels (M, mg/L) between males and females (1.01 vs 1.07) were not statistically significant (P>0.05), but the sTfR/lgSF levels if males were significantly lower than those in females (0.45 vs 0.62)(P0.05). The reference interval for STfR was (0.72-1.68) mg/L, the sTfR/lgSF reference interval was (0.31-0.88) for males, and (0.37-1.19) for females. Correlation analysis showed no correlation between sTfR, sTfR/lgSF and hsCRP (r=0.043, P>0.05; r=-0.064, P>0.05), while serum ferritin(SF), serum iron(SI), transferrin saturation(TSAT)were correlated with hsCRP (r=0.128, P0.05), while sTfR/lgSF was significantly correlated with and SF (r=-0.685, P<0.01). Conclusion Preliminary reference intervals for serum sTfR and sTfR/lgSF in apparently healthy adults in the Wuhan has been established. sTfR and sTfR/lgSF are not affected by inflammatory factors and are significant for identifying iron deficiency in anemia patients with elevated serum ferritin caused by inflammation.

Keywords

• stfr
• stfr/lgsf
• iron deficiency
• reference intervals
• wuhan