Elevated Ferritin Levels Associated with High Body Fat Mass Affect Mortality in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Obesity is a common health problem in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients and causes high serum ferritin levels. However, mixed results have been reported on whether serum ferritin levels affect the prognosis of PD patients. We investigated the effect of increased adiposity on ferritin levels and its association with mortality in 350 well-nourished PD patients. Body composition was measured using a portable whole-body bioimpedance spectroscope, and clinical determinants of high ferritin levels were evaluated. High ferritin levels (=600 ng/mL) were observed in 63 (18.0%) patients. Patients with high ferritin levels had a significantly higher body fat percentage and a lower lean tissue index than patients with low or normal ferritin levels. During a median follow-up of 30 months, there were 65 deaths. Ferritin = 600 ng/mL was associated with significantly higher all-cause mortality compared with 200-600 ng/mL of ferritin. Multivariate analysis showed that high ferritin levels were significantly associated with a higher percentage of body fat after adjustment for lean tissue index and volume status. High ferritin increased all-cause mortality in PD patients, and increased fat mass was an important determinant of the high ferritin. Our results support that adiposity may lead to an adverse clinical outcome in PD patients.

Automated summary

Obesity is common in PD patients, leading to high serum ferritin levels. Increased adiposity is associated with higher ferritin levels and mortality in PD patients.