Differential associations of ferritin and 25-hydroxyvitamin D with fasting glucose and diabetes risk in community dwelling older men

Abstract

Aims: We examined associations of ferritin and 25-hydroxyvitamin D with fasting glucose and prevalent diabetes in older men. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of 4153 community-dwelling men aged 70 to 89 years in Western Australia. Plasma ferritin, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and glucose were assayed. Diabetes was ascertained from self-report, medications, and fasting glucose. Results: There were 577 men with diabetes (13.9%). In the whole cohort, ferritin was associated with fasting glucose (0.051 mmol/L per 1 SD increase in ferritin, P =.006) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D was inversely associated (−0.085 mmol/L per 1 SD, P 225 vs <66 μg/L: adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.97, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74-1.27, P =.83). Higher vitamin D was associated with decreased odds of prevalent diabetes (highest vs lowest quartile; >82 nmol/L vs <53 nmol/L: OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.43-0.75, P