Joo-Yeon Kim1, Hee-Taik Kang1,2, Yong-Jae Lee3, Jin-Young Kim1, Tae-Jong Kim1, Hyoung-Ji Lim1, Jae-Woo Lee1

1Department of Family Medicine, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, Korea 2Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea 3Department of Family Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea


Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum ferritin and diabetes mellitus (DM) in the Korean population.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 9,576 subjects (4,264 men, 2,394 pre-menopausal women, and 2,918 post-menopausal women) older than 19 years using data from the 2010-2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. DM was defined as fasting plasma glucose ≥126 mg/dL, glycosylated hemoglobin ≥6.5%, or use of any glucose-lower medication including insulin therapy.
Results: The overall prevalence of DM was 12.0, 3.6, and 17.3% in men, pre-menopausal women, and post-menopausal women, respectively. DM prevalence was greater with ferritin levels from Q1 to Q4: 10.3, 10.2, 12.7, and 14.8% in men; 2.0, 2.8, 2.8, and 6.4% in pre-menopausal women; and 13.9, 14.4, 18.1, and 22.9% in post-menopausal women, respectively. Compared with participants in Q1, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for DM among participants in Q4 were 1.67 (1.20- 2.32) in men, 2.06 (0.91-4.66) in pre-menopausal women, and 1.60 (1.09-2.35) in post-menopausal women after adjusting for age and other covariates. Conclusion: Serum ferritin concentration was positively associated with a higher risk of DM in adult men and post-menopausal women.
Korean J Health Promot 2017;17(2):47-53

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Ferritin, Insulin resistance