Open AccessImmunoassay‐Based Serum Hepcidin Reference Range Measurements in Healthy Children: Differences Among Age Groups
Author(s) -
Sdogou Triantafyllia,
Tsentidis Charalampos,
Gourgiotis Dimitrios,
Marmarinos Antonios,
Gkourogianni Alexandra,
Papassotiriou Ioannis,
Anastasiou Theodora,
Kossiva Lydia
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of clinical laboratory analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1098-2825
pISSN - 0887-8013
DOI - 10.1002/jcla.21719
Subject(s) - hepcidin , reference range , medicine , reference values , physiology , age groups , serum iron , immunoassay , endocrinology , population , hormone , immunology , demography , inflammation , antibody , anemia , environmental health , sociology
Background Hepcidin is a peptide hormone that plays a key role in regulating iron absorption from the small intestine and body iron distribution. Alterations in hepcidin concentrations have been associated with chronic inflammatory conditions or inherited diseases of iron metabolism. The aim of our study was to evaluate healthy children in order to define normal reference range of serum hepcidin concentrations. The universal use of a reliable commercial ELISA kit gives the ability to compare our results with those from previous studies. Methods We evaluated 180 healthy children (88 boys, mean age: 67.55 ± 39.26 months, median: 60, range: 24–156 months) aged 2–12 years, using an immunoassay kit. Results Hepcidin median values were 46.94 ng/ml for boys and 46.79 ng/ml for girls. No significant differences were observed between boys and girls. There seem to be significantly higher values of hepcidin in older children (10–12 years old). This trend was constant and statistically significant in boys after gender and age group stratification. Although this trend was more prominent in girls, it was not statistically significant. Conclusions This study aims at setting up reference values for serum hepcidin concentrations in healthy pediatric population by using a well‐established laboratory kit. The difference in hepcidin concentrations in older children could be attributed to different growth rates. Additionally, differences between values in adults and children could reflect alterations in iron metabolism between those two age groups.