ArticleScience progress
Beyond deficiency: The emerging health risks of excess iron.
Article in Science progress. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
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Abstract
ObjectiveTo examine the systemic biological effects of excess dietary iron and elevated hemoglobin in the context of the 2024 World Health Organization revision of anemia thresholds. This study integrates experimental evidence from BALB/c mice with previously proposed diagnostic indices (SF/TSAT and SF×TSAT) to distinguish iron overload from inflammation.MethodsThis study is based on an experimental murine model, with human evidence incorporated to provide contextual interpretation. BALB/c mice were exposed to graded oral iron supplementation, and hematocrit and glycemia were evaluated across different metabolic conditions. The findings were interpreted in the context of established human diagnostic criteria and recognized modulators of iron absorption.ResultsIron supplementation induced a dose-dependent increase in hematocrit, with higher values observed in operationally defined obese mice. Hematocrit-glycemia coupling strengthened following supplementation (overall r = 0.62; p < 0.01), with stronger correlations in operationally defined obese mice (r = 0.74) and in females (r = 0.72), suggesting that both metabolic status and sex may modulate this relationship. The 2024 WHO revised hemoglobin thresholds are expected to reduce global anemia prevalence estimates, potentially modifying population-level interpretations. Dietary ascorbic acid intake and circadian hepcidin rhythms emerged as relevant determinants of iron absorption and systemic iron dynamics.ConclusionsBoth iron deficiency and iron excess are associated with adverse outcomes, reflecting a U-shaped relationship between iron status and risk. These findings support precision-based iron supplementation strategies that incorporate validated diagnostic markers, while considering metabolic context and chronobiological regulation. Such approaches may improve anemia management while minimizing unintended iron excess in non-deficient populations.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.