Background and objectives
Iron deficiency is prevalent in New Zealand women – low dietary haem intake and blood loss have previously been identified as risk factors. However, the influence of the hormone hepcidin on iron status has not been investigated.
Results
Iron insufficiency was confirmed in 55.8% of participants (Serum ferritin <30 μg·L-1). Hepcidin levels were higher in Middle Eastern and South Asian women who were iron sufficient (Serum ferritin ≥30 μg·L-1) (6.62 nM vs 1.17 nM, p<0.001).
South Asian women had higher hepcidin (8.78 nM) levels, compared to New Zealand Europeans (6.28 nM) (p=0.018). This is likely due to South Asian people presenting with higher interleukin-6 (1.66 vs 0.63 pg·mL-1, p<0.001).
We identified hepcidin (β=0.082, p<0.001) and frequency of meat intake (β=0.058, p=0.001) as significant predictors of serum ferritin in New Zealand Europeans, while hepcidin was the only identified predictor in South Asian people (β=0.138, p<0.001) and people of other ethnicities (β=0.117, p<0.002).
Conclusions
This is the first study in New Zealand to show that hepcidin levels strongly predict serum ferritin in premenopausal women. How frequently women eat meat also appears to be an important determinant of iron status in New Zealand Europeans.