Introduction: In this study we aimed to detect paraoxonase 1 (PON-1) activity in iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and to compare it with healthy controls by observing the change after iron therapy.
Material and methods: In this study, 50 adult patients with IDA and 40 healthy subjects were enrolled. All patients were analyzed at the beginning and after treatment according to laboratory assessments.
Results: Mean paraoxonase and arylesterase activities in the iron deficiency anemia group were significantly lower than mean activities of the control group (102.4 ±19.2 U/l and 163.3 ±13.68 U/l, respectively and 157.3 ±26.4 U/l and 256.1 ±24.6 U/l, respectively; p = 0.0001 for both). Paraoxonase and arylesterase activities significantly increased after treatment for IDA (143.2 ±13.9 and 197.6 ±27.9 U/l, respectively, p = 0.0001). Mean activities after treatment with iron were significantly lower than mean activities in the control group (p = 0.002; p = 0.0001 respectively).
Conclusions: Paraoxonase and arylesterase activities in patients with IDA significantly increased after treatment with iron therapy. In adults IDA may also be one of the factors associated with increased risk of atherosclerosis.
Keywords: arylesterase; atherosclerosis; iron deficiency anemia; paraoxonase.