Plasma Hepcidin Levels in Healthy Children: Review of Current Literature Highlights Limited Studies

Background: There are few studies that highlight pediatric hepcidin reference ranges especially from Asian subcontinent. In current study, plasma from 131 children (72 boys and 59 girls; 1 to 12 y) was analyzed for hepcidin-25 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Observations: The median (interquartile range) plasma hepcidin in boys was 21.89 ng/mL (16.50 to 51.70 ng/mL) and girls was 21.95 ng/mL (19.20 to 47.70 ng/mL). No statistically significant difference (P=0.937) of plasma hepcidin levels in sex was noted. However, multiple regression analysis revealed a significant correlation between plasma hepcidin levels and ferritin (P=0.000). Conclusions: Our study results highlight relatively lower median hepcidin values in children 1 to 12 years of age as compared with western data. This may be attributed to either lack of a harmonized and standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay detection methodology or to presence of clinically significant polymorphisms in hepcidin gene in our population.