Table 1.

Range of Parameters of Iron Status and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Mortality

	Iron status			Risk of CVD mortality/disease severity
Iron parameter	Normal range	Iron deficiency	Iron overload	No risk	Increased	References
Serum iron	65–170 μg/dL	<50 μg/dL	>170 μg/dL	90–130 μg/dL	<90; >130 μg/dL	(87)
Tf saturation	20%–55%	<20%	>55%	25%–40%	<25; >40%	(87)
Serum ferritin	20–300 ng/mL	<20 ng/mL	>1000 ng/mL	150–350 ng/mL	<150; >350 ng/mL	(87)
NTBI	<1 μM	Undetectable	>0.5 μM (Thal 0.5 to >10 μM; HH 0.1–5 μM)	<1 μM	Undetectable; >1 μM	(232)
LPI	<0.2 μM	Undetectable	>0.2 μM (Thal 0.5–10 μM; HH 0.2–2 μM)	<0.1 μM	Undetectable; >0.1 μM	(232)

The range of iron parameters, including serum iron, Tf saturation, serum ferritin, NTBI, and LPI, is reported for individuals with a normal iron status, iron deficiency, and iron overload. The range of iron parameters for individuals with no risk and increased risk of CVD mortality is indicated according to the J-shaped association by Grammer et al. (87). Values of NTBI and LPI are extrapolated from the preclinical study by Vinchi et al. (232) as no clinical studies are available. Being NTBI and LPI detectable almost exclusively in iron overload conditions, their association with CVD has to be considered upon iron overload only.

CVD, cardiovascular disease; HH, hereditary hemochromatosis; LPI, labile plasma iron; NTBI, nontransferrin-bound iron; Tf, transferrin.