Serum ferritin levels associated with increased risk for developing CHD in a low-income urban population.

Objective: The present study examined the association of serum ferritin with CHD risk using the Framingham Heart Study's 10-year risk algorithm.

Design: Ordinal logistic regression modelling was used to interpret risk. Proportional odds modelling assessed four divisions of ranked CHD risk (4, high; 3, increased; 2, slight; 1, minimal), separately by sex.

Setting: Baltimore, MD, USA.

Subjects: African-American and white participants (n 1823) from baseline of the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study, aged 30-64 years.

Results: For men, there was a 0·5 % increase in risk for every 10-unit rise in serum ferritin (pmol/l). Other significant predictors included increased BMI, white race, unemployment and C-reactive protein ≥9·5 mg/l. For women, there was a 1·5 % [corrected] increase in risk per 10-unit rise in serum ferritin (pmol/l). Other significant predictors included increased BMI, lower education, unemployment and C-reactive protein ≥9·5 mg/l.

Conclusions: Serum ferritin is a significant predictor of 10-year hard CHD risk for HANDLS study participants, a low-income, urban population. Serum ferritin, independent of elevated C-reactive protein, was associated with increased 10-year CHD risk for HANDLS participants. To our knowledge, these data provide the first evidence of the role of serum ferritin as a risk factor for hard CHD in African-American and white postmenopausal women in the USA. Future research on cardiovascular events from this prospective study may confirm the association.