Online Program

282051
Obese women less likely to have low serum ferritin levels, Nicaragua


Monday, November 4, 2013

Amanda Wendt, PhDc, Nutrition and Health Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Maria Elena Jefferds, PhD, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Cria Perrine, PhD, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Patricia Halleslevens, Lic, Nutrition Component, Ministry of Health, Managua, Nicaragua
Kevin Sullivan, PhD, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Iron deficiency is common in developing countries also experiencing increases in overweight and obesity. Data on how weight status is associated with iron deficiency, assessed by serum ferritin, are inconsistent. This analysis examines the association between weight status and serum ferritin among reproductive age (15-49y) women in Nicaragua, considering the effect of α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), a marker of inflammation. We analyzed data from the 2004-05 Nicaragua Integrated Surveillance System for Nutrition Interventions. We categorized body mass index (BMI) as normal weight: 18.5–24.9kg/m2; overweight: 25.0–29.9kg/m2; and obese: ≥30kg/m2. Three logistic regression models were analyzed with low serum ferritin (LSF; <15 µg/L) as the dependent variable and weight status (normal weight reference) as the independent variable, controlling for: (1) age, rural/urban residence, and education, (2) model 1 plus AGP, and (3) model 1 restricted to women with AGP <1.0 g/L. Prevalences of overweight and obesity were 31.8% and 19.2%, respectively, and 27.6% had LSF. In model 1, odds of LSF was 0.74, 95% CI: (0.52, 1.05) among overweight women and 0.42, 95% CI: (0.26, 0.65) among obese women. In model 2, AGP was significantly independently associated with LSF (OR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.34, 0.92) while the OR for overweight and obesity were largely unchanged. Excluding women with elevated AGP did not appreciably affect the relationship between BMI and LSF (model 3). Overall, in this population of reproductive age women, obese women were less likely to have LSF levels, and this was independent of inflammation, as measured by AGP.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
Describe how inflammation impacts serum ferritin levels. Explain how BMI measurements would be useful in population estimates of iron deficiency, as measured by serum ferritin.

Keyword(s): Women's Health, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the main investigator and author conducting the analyses and writing the manuscript for the research presented in this submitted abstract. As a PhD candidate at Emory University my dissertation work focuses on anemia prevention and iron consumption among women in northeast India.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.