Abstract
BACKGROUND: Raised plasma ferritin concentrations occur unexpectedly during iron studies done by primary care physicians. Plasma ferritin concentration has been positively associated with alcohol use among men. AIM: To determine the post-test probability that men in the community with raised plasma ferritin concentrations are hazardous drinkers. METHODS: The subjects were 152 men, randomly selected from a city's electoral roll. Nineteen (12.5 (2.7)%, mean (SEM)) admitted to drinking hazardously. The pretest probability of a man being a hazardous drinker was 0.125. This was converted to pretest odds of 0.14. The likelihood ratio (the ratio of the probability of obtaining a raised plasma ferritin concentration in a hazardous drinker (sensitivity) to the probability of obtaining a raised plasma ferritin concentration in a non-hazardous drinker (1-specificity)) was calculated for different plasma ferritin cut off points. RESULTS: A plasma ferritin level of > 652 micrograms/l gave the largest likelihood ratio, 4.16. Post-test odds were obtained by multiplying the pretest odds (0.14) by the likelihood ratio (4.16). A plasma ferritin level of > 652 micrograms/l had a post-test odds for a man being a hazardous drinker of 0.58. This was converted to a post-test probability of 0.37. CONCLUSIONS: Inquiries could usefully be made into the alcohol consumption of men with a plasma ferritin concentration > 652 micrograms/l, as approximately one in three would admit to drinking hazardously.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Bell H., Skinningsrud A., Raknerud N., Try K. Serum ferritin and transferrin saturation in patients with chronic alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver diseases. J Intern Med. 1994 Sep;236(3):315–322. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2796.1994.tb00802.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ford C., Wells F. E., Rogers J. N. Assessment of iron status in association with excess alcohol consumption. Ann Clin Biochem. 1995 Nov;32(Pt 6):527–531. doi: 10.1177/000456329503200602. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hurme L., Seppä K., Rajaniemi H., Sillanaukee P. Chromatographically identified alcohol-induced haemoglobin adducts as markers of alcohol abuse among women. Eur J Clin Invest. 1998 Feb;28(2):87–94. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2362.1998.00258.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Leggett B. A., Brown N. N., Bryant S. J., Duplock L., Powell L. W., Halliday J. W. Factors affecting the concentrations of ferritin in serum in a healthy Australian population. Clin Chem. 1990 Jul;36(7):1350–1355. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lundin L., Hällgren R., Birgegård G., Wide L. Serum ferritin in alcoholics and the relation to liver damage, iron state and erythropoietic activity. Acta Med Scand. 1981;209(4):327–331. doi: 10.1111/j.0954-6820.1981.tb11601.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Seppä K., Laippala P., Saarni M. Macrocytosis as a consequence of alcohol abuse among patients in general practice. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1991 Oct;15(5):871–876. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1991.tb00615.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shaper A. G., Pocock S. J., Ashby D., Walker M., Whitehead T. P. Biochemical and haematological response to alcohol intake. Ann Clin Biochem. 1985 Jan;22(Pt 1):50–61. doi: 10.1177/000456328502200104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Whitehead T. P., Clarke C. A., Whitfield A. G. Biochemical and haematological markers of alcohol intake. Lancet. 1978 May 6;1(8071):978–981. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(78)90261-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]