Table 2.
Characteristics of participants and iron status at the time of the iron absorption test.
| Baseline | 3 Months | 6 Months | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M0 (n = 268) | M3 (n = 268) | M6 (n = 268) | |||||
| Mean | (SD) | Mean | (SD) | Mean | (SD) | p | |
| ESA, IU/week | 3679.3 | (3406.8) | 3256.1 | (3205.9) | 3147.7 | (3026.6) | 0.000 |
| RBCs, 104/μL | 360.3 | (44.5) | 364.9 | (48.4) | 360.9 | (45.5) | 0.301 |
| Hb, g/dL | 11.2 | (1.2) | 11.4 | (1.3) | 11.4 | (1.2) | 0.019 |
| Ht, % | 34.6 | (3.8) | 35.1 | (4.0) | 34.9 | (3.6) | 0.162 |
| MCV | 95.8 | (8.8) | 96.6 | (5.5) | 96.6 | (7.5) | 0.301 |
| MCH, pg/cell | 31.2 | (2.2) | 31.5 | (2.1) | 31.7 | (2.0) | 0.000 |
| Plat, 104/μL | 19.2 | (5.9) | 20.1 | (14.8) | 18.8 | (6.1) | 0.018 |
| S-Fe, μg/dL | 65.7 | (26.2) | 70.3 | (28.4) | 69.8 | (27.8) | 0.013 |
| FTN, ng/mL | 100.7 | (93.2) | 108.9 | (99.6) | 116.7 | (102.7) | 0.000 |
| TSAT, % | 27.4 | (11.6) | 28.9 | (12.0) | 29.5 | (12.5) | 0.009 |
| Hepcidin-25, ng/mL | 42.9 | (38.7) | 50.5 | (41.6) | 45.6 | (35.6) | 0.000 |
| ΔFe2h, μg/dL | 26.6 | (37.2) | 24.7 | (35.8) | 22.9 | (32.3) | 0.062 |
| P, mg/dL | 5.5 | (1.3) | 5.5 | (1.3) | 5.5 | (1.3) | 0.982 |
| Albumin, g/dL | 3.9 | (3.4) | 4.1 | (4.1) | 3.9 | (3.5) | 0.127 |
| AST, IU/L | 13.5 | (6.7) | 13.8 | (6.3) | 13.9 | (7.8) | 0.663 |
| ALT, IU/L | 11.4 | (5.4) | 11.9 | (7.6) | 12.2 | (9.4) | 0.898 |
| Al-P, IU/mL | 239.5 | (110.5) | 241.7 | (110.2) | 238 | (111.6) | 0.134 |
| γ-GTP, IU/L | 21.3 | (21.0) | 20.7 | (17.0) | 22.2 | (25.0) | 0.455 |
The obtained data are expressed as the mean ± standard deviation (SD). A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for the comparison of data at M0, M3, and M6. The statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. ESA, erythropoiesis-stimulating agent; RBCs, red blood cells; Hb, hemoglobin; Ht, hematocrit; MCV, mean corpuscular volume; MCH, mean corpuscular hemoglobin; S-Fe, serum iron; FTN, ferritin; TSAT, transferrin saturation; ΔFe2h, iron absorption in 2 h; P, phosphate; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; Al-P, alkaline phosphatase; GTP, glutamyl transpeptidase.