Status of Transferrin Saturation in Diabetic Nephropathypatients

Serum transferrin saturation (TSAT%) ratio is a commonly used laboratory measure of iron deficiency and iron overload in clinical practice. It has become a first step in the routine screening of iron deficiency anaemia in patients with chronic kidney disease and for the detection of pathological iron overload in assessment for hemochromatosis. Used alone or in combination with other measures of iron metabolism, low levels of TSAT (typically<20%) reflect a state of iron deficiency whereas levels in excess of 50% indicate an excess of total body iron. In our study, transferring saturation levels was significantly high in diabetic Nephropathy (group I). Comparison of the parameters serum iron, Urine Albumin, TIBC, Trasferrin saturation, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), Fasting plasma glucose(FBS) between the 3 group was done using Student t test and was statistically significant.Pearson’s coefficient correlation was done between transferrin saturation and serum iron, Urine microalbumin, TIBC, Trasferrin saturation, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), Fasting blood sugar (FBS) and found a positive correlation between them and had a statistical significance. This indicates that transferrin saturation levels increases with the extent of severity of diabetic Nephropathy. Positive correlation provides the information that transferrin saturation can be considered to reflect the iron depletion of an individual.