The association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations with elevated serum ferritin levels in normal weight, overweight and obese Canadians

PLoS One. 2019 Mar 7;14(3):e0213260. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213260. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

In light of the growing body of literature suggesting a beneficial effect of vitamin D on inflammatory response, we hypothesized that vitamin D affects serum ferritin (SF), a biomarker of inflammation. The objective of the present study is to examine the association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] with elevated SF concentrations indicative of inflammation as no earlier study has done so. Data from 5550 Canadian adults who participated in the 2012/2013 and the 2014/2015 Canadian Health Measures Surveys were analysed. We observed that 9.4% of Canadian adults have elevated SF concentrations and that 35.6% were vitamin D insufficient. Among Canadians with under/normal body weights, those with serum 25(OH)D ≥ 75 nmol/L relative to those with serum 25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L, were substantially less at risk for elevated SF concentrations (OR = 0.24; 95% CI = 0.06, 0.89; p = 0.034). We did not observe this association for overweight and obese Canadians. Canadians of older age, non-white ethnicity, males, those with income above $100,000, those who consumed alcohol, and those with high total cholesterol concentrations and elevated blood pressures were more likely to have elevated SF concentrations. Serum 25(OH)D ≥ 75 nmol/L is likely to provoke anti-inflammatory benefits, but intervention studies that achieve high 25(OH)D concentrations and with long follow up are needed to establish the role of vitamin D on SF.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Biomarkers / blood*
  • Canada / epidemiology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Ferritins / blood*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Obesity / blood*
  • Obesity / epidemiology
  • Overweight / blood*
  • Overweight / epidemiology
  • Vitamin D / analogs & derivatives*
  • Vitamin D / blood
  • Vitamin D Deficiency / blood*
  • Vitamin D Deficiency / complications
  • Vitamins / blood*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Vitamins
  • Vitamin D
  • Ferritins
  • 25-hydroxyvitamin D

Grants and funding

This research was funded through an Alberta Research Chair in Nutrition and Disease Prevention to Paul J. Veugelers. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.