Iron Homeostasis and Metabolic Syndrome Relationships

Iron homeostasis encompasses a tightly regulated network of absorption, transport, storage and utilisation processes that ensure cellular iron sufficiency without provoking oxidative damage. Central components include dietary uptake in the duodenum, transport via transferrin, intracellular storage in ferritin and systemic regulation by the liver‐derived hormone hepcidin. Metabolic syndrome, defined by a cluster of central obesity, dysglycaemia, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance, affects a growing proportion of adults worldwide and predisposes to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease. Disruptions in iron metabolism—manifesting as elevated serum ferritin, altered transferrin saturation and imbalanced hepcidin responses—have been increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome. Excess iron fosters free radical formation, impairs insulin signalling and promotes inflammatory cascades in adipose tissue and the liver. Conversely, altered lipid and glucose metabolism in metabolic syndrome can perturb normal iron distribution and storage, creating a bidirectional relationship with broad clinical and public health implications.

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Iron Homeostasis and Metabolic Syndrome Relationships publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in iron homeostasis and metabolic syndrome relationships across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Serum ferritin: intracellular iron‐storage protein whose circulating concentration reflects total body iron stores.

Transferrin: glycoprotein that binds ferric iron in plasma and delivers it to tissues via receptor‐mediated uptake.

Transferrin saturation: percentage of transferrin binding sites occupied by iron, calculated from serum iron and total iron‐binding capacity.

Hepcidin: liver‐derived peptide hormone that controls iron egress from enterocytes and macrophages by degrading the iron exporter ferroportin.

Unsaturated iron-binding capacity (UIBC): measure of unoccupied iron‐binding sites on transferrin, indicating reserve binding capacity.

Hepcidin/ferritin ratio: calculated index comparing regulatory hormone level to iron store marker, used to assess iron homeostatic balance.

References

1. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of Iron biomarkers and cardiovascular risk factors in pre- and postmenopausal women: leveraging repeated measurements to address natural variability. Cardiovascular Diabetology (2024).
2. Dose–response relationship of serum ferritin and dietary iron intake with metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease incidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Nutrition (2024).
3. Iron Homeostasis-Related Parameters and Hepcidin/Ferritin Ratio: Emerging Sex-Specific Predictive Markers for Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolites (2024).