ArticleBiological trace element research2026
Association Between Iron Availability and Accelerated Biological Aging in Non-Anemic Women of Reproductive Age: A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study.
Article in Biological trace element research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Iron is essential for mitochondrial function, yet iron insufficiency without anemia in reproductive-aged women is often overlooked. Traditional markers like ferritin are influenced by inflammation, which may complicate the assessment of iron status and its association with biological aging. We analyzed 5,686 non-anemic reproductive-aged women (20-49 years) from NHANES cycles 2003-2010 and 2015-2023. We examined the association between the soluble transferrin receptor-to-log(ferritin) index (sTfR index), an indirect marker of iron status, and biological aging, measured by Phenotypic Age Acceleration (PhenoAgeAccel). Analyses included weighted multivariable regression, restricted cubic spline (RCS) modeling, and sensitivity analysis (CRP ≤ 5 mg/L). Each 1-unit increase in sTfR index was associated with a 1.94-year increase in PhenoAgeAccel (95% CI: 1.56-2.32). The association remained robust after excluding participants with elevated inflammation (β = 1.79; 95% CI: 1.41-2.17). Separately, ferritin RCS analysis showed that compared with the median (47 μg/L), women at the WHO threshold (15 μg/L) exhibited 1.93 additional years of biological aging (95% CI: 1.58-2.29). Notably, women with higher sTfR index values (median ferritin 29 μg/L) showed PhenoAgeAccel values, despite a substantial proportion having ferritin levels above commonly used deficiency thresholds. The magnitude of this association varied across levels of bilirubin and socioeconomic status. Higher sTfR index values, even in the absence of anemia, were associated with accelerated biological aging in reproductive-aged women. The sTfR index may provide additional information regarding iron status beyond conventional markers.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42730837What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.