Associations between higher plasma ferritin and hepcidin levels with liver stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes: An exploratory study

Background: Currently, there is no information about the association between circulating levels of ferritin and hepcidin and liver fibrosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods: We enrolled 153 patients with T2DM with no known liver diseases, who consecutively attended our diabetes outpatient service and who underwent liver ultrasonography and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by vibration-controlled transient elastography (Fibroscan® for the non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis). Plasma ferritin and hepcidin concentrations were measured with an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and mass spectrometry-based assay, respectively. Results: After stratification of patients by LSM tertiles [1st tertile median LSM: 3.6 (interquartile range: 3.3–4.0) kPa, 2nd tertile: 5.3 (4.9–5.9) kPa and 3rd tertile: 7.9 (6.7–9.4) kPa], we found that plasma ferritin and hepcidin concentrations increased across LSM tertiles [median ferritin: 68.7 (interquartile range: 25.1–147) vs. 85.8 (48.3–139) vs. 111 (59.3–203) μg/L, p = 0.021; median hepcidin: 2.5 (1.1–5.2) vs. 4.4 (2.5–7.3) vs. 4.1 (1.9–6.8) nmol/L, p = 0.032]. After adjustment for age, sex, diabetes duration, waist circumference, haemoglobin A1c, HOMA-insulin resistance score, triglycerides, haemoglobin, presence of hepatic steatosis on ultrasonography and patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing-3 (PNPLA3) rs738409 genetic variant, higher plasma ferritin levels were associated with greater LSM values (adjusted-odds ratio 2.10, 95% confidence interval 1.23–3.57, p = 0.005). Higher plasma hepcidin levels were also associated with greater LSM values (adjusted-odds ratio 1.90, 95% confidence interval 1.15–3.13, p = 0.013). Conclusions: Higher levels of plasma ferritin and hepcidin were associated with greater NAFLD-related liver fibrosis (assessed by LSM) in patients with T2DM, even after adjustment for established cardiometabolic risk factors, diabetes-related variables and other potential confounders.