Background: Serum ferritin indicating iron stores is a putative risk factor of cardiovascular disease. However few domestic study has been reported on the association of serum ferritin and obesity and insulin resistance. This study is to investigate this association.
Method: The study has been conducted for 160 healthy men who visited the hospital health examination center. The body fat mass (%), body mass index, weight, waist circumference, blood lipid level, fasting glucose, insulin, hsCRP and serum ferritin were measured. The relationship between log ferritin and various obesity related variables were analyzed using Pearson correlation. Multiple regression analysis was applied to investigate the association of log ferritin and age, wait circumference, body fat mass (%), logCRP, triglyceride and HOMA score.
Results: Log ferritin showed positive correlation with insulin resistance (HOMA score), weight, body fat mass (%), body mass index, waist circumference, fasting glucose, insulin, triglyceride, and log CRP. From multiple regression analysis, waist circumference and HOMA score are shown to independently contribute to log ferritin
Conclusions: Ferritin is shown to be associated with insulin resistance (HOMA score) and waist circumference independently. Complementary study for women remains as a future study.

Keywords: serum ferritin, Central obesity, Insulin resistance