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©2006 Baishideng Publishing Group Co.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 28, 2006; 12(36): 5866-5869
Published online Sep 28, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i36.5866
Published online Sep 28, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i36.5866
Table 1 Conditions associated with raised ferritin and diagnostic criteria used
| Condition | Requirements for diagnosis |
| Hereditary haemochromatosis | Genotyped and / or biopsy proven |
| Renal failure | Dialysis dependent |
| Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) | Liver biopsy or Liver Function Test (LFT) abnormality compatible with ALD in patients with history of alcohol excess (> 30 u/wk) in whom other causes have been excluded |
| Inflammatory disease | Raised C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and/or Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) on more than one consecutive test and recognised active inflammatory disease |
| Repeated blood transfusion | More than 4 unit packed cell transfusion in preceding 6 mo |
| Autoimmune disease | Recognised autoimmune disease with positive auto-antibody test |
| Other liver disease | All other recognised causes of parenchymal liver damage with abnormal LFTs, excluding ALD and HHC |
| Haematological disease | Bone marrow or blood film proven primary haematological disorder |
| Neoplasia | Histologically proven neoplastic disease |
| Weight loss | More than 10% body mass (kg) lost in preceding six months |
| Human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) | Positive HIV test |
Table 2 Causes of ferritin ≥ 1500 mg /L in local and general population
| Condition | All patients, n = 150 (% total) | Local patients, n = 71 (% total) | Number with condition as singlecause for raised ferritin (%) |
| HHC | 13 (8.6) | 8 (11.3) | 5/13 (38.5) |
| Alcoholic liver disease | 33 (22) | 22 (31.0) | 24/33 (72.7) |
| Other liver disease | 20 (13.3) | 10 (14.1) | 8/20 (40.0) |
| Inflammatory Disease | 28 (18.6) | 9 (12.6) | 7/28 (25.0) |
| Neoplasia | 29 (19.3) | 11 (15.4) | 6/29 (20.7) |
| Repeated blood transfusion | 26 (17.3) | 9 (12.6) | 1/26 (3.8) |
| Autoimmune disease | 21 (14.0) | 8 (11.3) | 2/21 (9.5) |
| Haematological disease | 38 (25.3) | 11 (15.4) | 6/38 (15.7) |
| Renal failure | 42 (28.0) | 15 (21.1) | 20/42 (47..6) |
| Weight loss | 17 (11.3) | 6 (8.4) | 2/17 (11.7) |
| HIV | 1 (0.7) | 1 (1.4) | 0/1 (0) |
| Unexplained | 3 (2.0) | 3 (4.2) | 3/3 (100) |
Table 3 The most common causes of hyperferritinaemia
| All patients (%) | Local Patients (%) |
| Renal failure (28.0) | Alcoholic liver disease (31.0) |
| Haematological disease (25.3) | Renal failure (21.1) |
| Alcoholic liver disease (22) | Neoplasia (15.4) |
| Neoplasia (19.3) | Haematological disease (15.4) |
| Inflammatory disease (18.6) | Other liver disease (14.1) |
| Repeated blood transfusion (17.3) | Repeated blood transfusion (12.6) |
| Autoimmune disease (14.0) | Inflammatory disease (12.6) |
| Other liver disease (13.3) | HHC (11.4) |
| Weight loss (11.3) | Autoimmune disease (11.4) |
| HHC (8.6) | Weight loss (8.4) |
| Unexplained (2.0) | Unexplained (4.2) |
| HIV (0.7) | HIV (1.4) |
Table 4 Median ferritin levels in each condition
| Condition (n) | Median ferritinμg/L | Number with condition as single identifiable cause for ferritin≥ 1500μg/L | Median ferritin in those with = cause for ferritin≥ 1500μg/L |
| HHC (13) | 5031 | 5 | 7432 |
| Other liver disease (19) | 2889 | 8 | 3055 |
| Unexplained (3) | 2606 | n/a | n/a |
| Weight loss (16) | 2508 | 2 | 2160 |
| ALD (31) | 2484 | 24 | 2121 |
| Autoimmune disease (21) | 2203 | 2 | 2017 |
| Haematological disease (31) | 2075 | 5 | 3974 |
| Inflammatory disease (24) | 1995 | 3 | 2877 |
| Repeated blood transfusion (29) | 1977 | 1 | 6315 |
| Renal failure (40) | 1975 | 20 | 1954 |
| Neoplasia (26) | 1767 | 3 | 2409 |
| HIV (1) | 1711 | 0 | n/a |
- Citation: Hearnshaw S, Thompson NP, McGill A. The epidemiology of hyperferritinaemia. World J Gastroenterol 2006; 12(36): 5866-5869
- URL: https://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/full/v12/i36/5866.htm
- DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v12.i36.5866