Ambroszkiewicz Jadwiga, Klemarczyk Witold, Mazur Joanna, Gajewska Joanna, Rowicka Grażyna, Strucińska Małgorzata, Chełchowska Magdalena
Screening Department, Institute of Mother and Child, Kasprzaka 17A, 01-211, Warsaw, Poland.
Department of Nutrition, Institute of Mother and Child, Kasprzaka 17A, 01-211, Warsaw, Poland.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2017 Dec;180(2):182-190. doi: 10.1007/s12011-017-1003-5. Epub 2017 Mar 24.
The aim of this study was to assess the effect of vegetarian diet on iron metabolism parameters paying special attention to serum hepcidin and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) concentrations in 43 prepubertal children (age range 4.5-9.0 years) on vegetarian and in 46 children on omnivorous diets. There were no significant differences according to age, weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) between vegetarian and omnivorous children. Vegetarians had similar intake of iron and vitamin B and a significantly higher intake of vitamin C (p < 0.05) compared with non-vegetarians. Hematologic parameters and serum iron concentrations were within the reference range in both groups of children. Serum transferrin levels were similar in all subjects; however, ferritin concentrations were significantly (p < 0.01) lower in vegetarians than in omnivores. In children on a vegetarian diet, median hepcidin levels were lower (p < 0.05) but sTfR concentrations significantly higher (p < 0.001) compared with omnivorous children. In the multivariate regression model, we observed associations between hepcidin level and ferritin concentration (β = 0.241, p = 0.05) in the whole group of children as well as between hepcidin concentration and CRP level (β = 0.419, p = 0.047) in vegetarians. We did not find significant associations with concentration of sTfR and selected biochemical, anthropometric, and dietary parameters in any of the studied groups of children. As hematologic parameters and iron concentrations in vegetarians and omnivores were comparable and ferritin level was lower in vegetarians, we suggest that inclusion of novel markers, in particular sTfR (not cofounded by inflammation) and hepcidin, can better detect subclinical iron deficiency in children following vegetarian diets.
本研究旨在评估素食饮食对铁代谢参数的影响，特别关注43名青春期前素食儿童（年龄范围4.5 - 9.0岁）和46名杂食儿童的血清铁调素和可溶性转铁蛋白受体（sTfR）浓度。素食儿童和杂食儿童在年龄、体重、身高和体重指数（BMI）方面无显著差异。与非素食者相比，素食者的铁和维生素B摄入量相似，维生素C摄入量显著更高（p < 0.05）。两组儿童的血液学参数和血清铁浓度均在参考范围内。所有受试者的血清转铁蛋白水平相似；然而，素食者的铁蛋白浓度显著低于杂食者（p < 0.01）。与杂食儿童相比，素食儿童的铁调素水平中位数较低（p < 0.05），但sTfR浓度显著更高（p < 0.001）。在多变量回归模型中，我们观察到在整个儿童组中铁调素水平与铁蛋白浓度之间存在关联（β = 0.241，p = 0.05），在素食者中铁调素浓度与CRP水平之间存在关联（β = 0.419，p = 0.047）。在任何研究的儿童组中，我们未发现sTfR浓度与选定的生化、人体测量和饮食参数之间存在显著关联。由于素食者和杂食者的血液学参数和铁浓度相当，且素食者的铁蛋白水平较低，我们建议纳入新的标志物，特别是sTfR（不受炎症影响）和铁调素，可以更好地检测素食儿童的亚临床缺铁情况。
