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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Lab Physicians 2022; 14(02): 175-182
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1735585
Original Article

Role of Serum and Urinary Hepcidin in Young Females of Reproductive Age in North India

Authors

  • Shaveta Laller

    1   Department of Biochemistry, SGT Medical College and Hospital, Gurugram, Haryana, India

  • Seema Patel

    2   Department of Biochemistry, ESIC Medical College, Faridabad, Haryana, India

  • Deepa Haldar

    3   Department of Biochemistry, Academic Block, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC and SJH), Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India
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Abstract

Introduction Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional disorders in the world affecting young females of the reproductive age group. Indeed, an ideal screening test should be capable of identifying iron deficiency long before developing anemia. Henceforth, the present study was aimed to determine utility of hepcidin in iron deficiency and to see its correlation with different iron indices.

Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry, SGT Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Budhera, Gurugram, Haryana, India. It included 200 nonpregnant female students aged between 18 and 25 years. Estimation of hepcidin was by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Quantitative estimation of serum iron, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and transferrin saturation was done via semi-autoanalyzer. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS v22.

Results The reference range of urinary hepcidin established in this study was 110 to 969 ng/mg creatinine (mean ± standard deviation 328.3 ± 195.07 ng/mg creatinine). Serum hepcidin and urinary hepcidin had a significant correlation with iron indices. Area under the curve of urinary hepcidin was obtained with best combination of diagnostic sensitivity (82.6%) and specificity (83.1%) at a cutoff value of > 15.7 ng/mL and ≤ 199 ng/mg, respectively.

Conclusion Since ferritin, TIBC, transferrin saturation, and hepcidin each represent different aspects of iron metabolism, incorporating hepcidin in the present diagnostics and combined evaluation of these indices may accord enhanced clinical information. Hepcidin would help to stratify the vulnerable young healthy female population in early stages of iron deficiency and guide proper interventions to reduce morbidity.

Keywords

iron deficiency - hepcidin - transferrin - young females

Ethical Approval

The study was conducted after getting ethical approval from Medical Ethics Committee of SGT university, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.


Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University (SGT University), The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS).


Ethical clearance Reference No: SGTU/FMHS/D./96, Dated March 14, 2016.


Presentation at a Meeting

A part of research “Study the role of hepcidin in diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in young females of northern India” published in IJRMS Shaveta, Bansal SK, Patel S. Study the role of hepcidin in diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in young females of northern India. Int J Res Med Sci. 2020;8(10):3647–51.


Contribution Details

All the authors have substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition, analysis, interpretation of data, drafting the article, revising it critically, and final approval of the version to be published.


Source(s) of Support

In the present study, we haven't received any support in the form of grants, equipment, and/or drugs.




Publication History

Article published online:
22 September 2021

© 2021. The Indian Association of Laboratory Physicians. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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