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World J Gastroenterol. Sep 28, 2006; 12(36): 5866-5869
Published online Sep 28, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i36.5866
The epidemiology of hyperferritinaemia
Sarah Hearnshaw, Nick Paul Thompson, Andrew McGill
Sarah Hearnshaw, Nick Paul Thompson, Department of Gastroenterology, The Freeman Hospital, Freeman Road, High Heaton, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE7 7DN, United Kingdom
Andrew McGill, Department of Biochemistry, Newcastle General Hospital, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dr Sarah Hearnshaw, Department of Gastroenterology, the Freeman Hospital, High Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE7 7DN, United Kingdom. sarahhearnshaw@hotmail.com
Telephone: +44-191-2336161 Fax: +44-191-2131968
Received: December 21, 2005
Revised: July 5, 2006
Accepted: July 10, 2006
Published online: September 28, 2006
Abstract

AIM: To discover the causes of markedly raised ferritin levels in patients seen at a teaching hospital in Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom.

METHODS: Demographic and medical data were collected for all patients over 18 years who had a serum ferritin levels recorded as ≥ 1500 μg/L during the period January to September 2002. The cause or causes for their hyperferritinaemia were identified from their medical notes. Patients from a defined local population were identified.

RESULTS: A total of 19 583 measurements were provided of which 406 from 199 patients were ≥ 1500 μg/L. An annual incidence for the local population was determined to be 0.44/1000. 150/199 medical notes were scrutinised and 81 patients were identified as having a single cause for their raised ferritin level. The most common single cause was alcoholic liver disease in the local population and renal failure was the most common single cause in the overall population. Confirmed hereditary haemochromatosis was the 10th most common cause. Liver disease contributed to hyperferritinaemia in 44% of the patients. Weight loss may have contributed to hyperferritinaemia in up to 11%.

CONCLUSION: Alcohol related liver disease, haemat-ological disease, renal failure and neoplasia are much more common causes of marked hyperferritinaemia than haemochromatosis. The role of weight loss in hyperferritinaemia may warrant further investigation.

Keywords: Ferritin; Epidemiology; Haemochromatosis