Ferritin serum levels and incident HF (ARIC study, 1987 to 2011).
Kaplan–Meier curves for patients with low- (red large dashed), normal (black line), and high-ferritin (blue short dashed) serum levels for the outcome of heart failure (hospitalization and death). Adjusted for age, sex, and race, standardized to a population that is 62% male, 55% white, and age 50. On the left, the whole sample was included; on the right, only participants without anemia. Low ferritin: defined as ferritin levels < 30 ng/mL; normal ferritin: 30–200 ng/mL in women and 30–300 ng/mL in men; and high ferritin: >200 ng/mL in women and >300 ng/mL in men. HR (hazard ratio) was from a Cox regression adjusted for age, sex, and race.