Table 1.
Cross-sectional study. Demographic, clinical, anthropometrical, and laboratory characteristics. Data are expressed as means and standard deviations. p-values were assessed by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's HSD-post hoc test, Kruskal–Wallis test, and Dunn's post-hoc analysis or chi-squared test and adjusted for multiple comparison. Abbreviations: MetS – Metabolic Syndrome; −Fe – without iron overload; +Fe – with iron overload; BMI – body mass index; WHR – waist hip ratio; GGT – gamma glutamyl transpeptidase; AST – aspartate aminotransferase; ALT – alanine aminotransferase; oGGT – oral glucose tolerance test; HOMA – Homeostasis model assessment; Tchol – total cholesterol, HDL-C – high density lipoproteins, LDL-C – low density lipoproteins, TG – triglyceride, CRP – C-reactive protein; IL – interleukin; TNF – tumor necrosis factor, y – years, kg – kilogram, m – meter, ng – nanogram, ml – milliliter, mg – milligram, dl – deciliter, μg – microgram, g – gram, U – unit, l – liter.
| Lean healthy n = 53 |
MetS−Fe n = 54 |
MetS+Fe n = 56 |
Adjusted P-value | p 1 vs 2 |
p 1 vs 3 |
p 2 vs 3 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (male/female) | 26/27 | 27/27 | 28/28 | ||||
| Age (y) | 54.7 ± 7.9 | 56.4 ± 6.4 | 58.3 ± 9.2 | 0.065 | |||
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 115.2 ± 7,3 | 137.1 ± 14.6 | 140.2 ± 14.9 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.446 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 74.3 ± 6.5 | 84.2 ± 7.9 | 85.0 ± 10.2 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.783 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 24.0 ± 2.5 | 29.9 ± 3.5 | 31.1 ± 5.0 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.497 |
| WHR | 0.91 ± 0.07 | 0.96 ± 0.06 | 0.99 ± 0.07 | <0.001 | 0.002 | <0.001 | 0.039 |
| Ferritin (ng/ml) | 53.5 ± 20.4 | 74.9 ± 27.9 | 434.9 ± 210.4 | <0.001 | 0.008 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Transferrin (mg/dl) | 282.8 ± 36.8 | 276.2 ± 38.8 | 253.4 ± 35.0 | <0.001 | 0.638 | <0.001 | 0.004 |
| Transferrin saturation (%) | 27.5 ± 9.2 | 26.1 ± 9.0 | 32.5 ± 9.1 | 0.001 | 0.459 | 0.009 | 0.001 |
| Serum iron (μg/dl) | 108.3 ± 34.5 | 99.8 ± 32.2 | 115.6 ± 33.7 | 0.058 | |||
| Hemoglobin (g/dl) | 14.5 ± 1.2 | 14.7 ± 1.7 | 15.2 ± 1.0 | 0.008 | 0.131 | 0.005 | 0.131 |
| GGT (U/l) | 20.7 ± 12.7 | 37.8 ± 32.3 | 53.9 ± 68.5 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.024 |
| AST (U/l) | 20.9 ± 6.4 | 23.2 ± 7.0 | 26.6 ± 10.9 | 0.005 | 0.100 | 0.003 | 0.144 |
| ALT (U/l) | 19.1 ± 7.4 | 27.4 ± 11.6 | 33.5 ± 16.4 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.077 |
| Fasting plasma glucose (mg/dl) | 92.8 ± 7.7 | 97.6 ± 17.2 | 107.3 ± 15.1 | <0.001 | 0.095 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Fasting insulin (μU/ml) | 5.6 ± 3.0 | 13.0 ± 15.1 | 13.5 ± 7.1 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.218 |
| oGGT 1 h (mg/dl) | 139.8 ± 32.5 | 152.9 ± 41.1 | 184.0 ± 46.1 | <0.001 | 0.295 | <0.001 | 0.002 |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.4 ± 0.4 | 5.5 ± 0.3 | 5.7 ± 0.4 | 0.001 | 0.441 | <0.001 | 0.035 |
| HOMA-IR | 1.30 ± 0.75 | 3.66 ± 7.37 | 3.59 ± 2.19 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.106 |
| Tchol (mg/dl) | 219.5 ± 37.6 | 230.7 ± 47.0 | 238.6 ± 53.0 | 0.103 | |||
| HDL-C (mg/dl) | 72.1 ± 17.6 | 47.1 ± 9.9 | 47.8 ± 12.9 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.962 |
| LDL-C (mg/dl) | 132.9 ± 34.1 | 155.5 ± 39.7 | 155.7 ± 41.2 | 0.005 | 0.008 | 0.008 | 0.886 |
| TG (mg/dl) | 86.5 ± 25.8 | 192.7 ± 74.2 | 224.7 ± 189.1 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.702 |
| CRP (mg/dl) | 0.13 ± 0.13 | 0.37 ± 0.38 | 0.70 ± 2.1 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.319 |
| Adiponectin (μg/ml) | 13.6 ± 4.2 | 10.4 ± 4.1 | 10.2 ± 3.7 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.834 |
| IL-6 (pg/ml) | 2.9 ± 1.2 | 4.1 ± 2.2 | 5.9 ± 10.6 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.096 |
| TNFα (pg/ml) | 6.1 ± 2.1 | 7.2 ± 1.6 | 7.6 ± 2.4 | <0.001 | 0.003 | 0.001 | 0.737 |
| Leptin (ng/ml) | 5.9 ± 4.2 | 19.9 ± 16.9 | 20.3 ± 12.8 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.398 |