Ferritin positively associates with serum urate and an interventional study suggests that iron has a role in triggering gout flares. The objective of this study was to further explore the relationship between iron/ferritin and urate/gout.
European (100 cases, 60 controls) and Polynesian (100 cases, 60 controls) New Zealand (NZ) males and 189 US male cases and 60 male controls participated. The 10,727 participants without gout were from the Jackson Heart (JHS; African American = 1260) and NHANES III (European = 5112; African American = 4355) studies. Regression analyses were adjusted for age, sex, body mass index and C-reactive protein. To test for a causal relationship between ferritin and urate, bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis was performed.
Serum ferritin positively associated with gout in NZ Polynesian (OR (per 10 ng ml- 1 increase) = 1.03, p = 1.8E-03) and US (OR = 1.11, p = 7.4E-06) data sets but not in NZ European (OR = 1.00, p = 0.84) data sets. Ferritin positively associated with urate in NZ Polynesian (β (mg dl- 1) = 0.014, p = 2.5E-04), JHS (β = 0.009, p = 3.2E-05) and NHANES III (European β = 0.007, p = 5.1E-11; African American β = 0.011, p = 2.1E-16) data sets but not in NZ European (β = 0.009, p = 0.31) or US (β = 0.041, p = 0.15) gout data sets. Ferritin positively associated with the frequency of gout flares in two of the gout data sets. By Mendelian randomization analysis a one standard deviation unit increase in iron and ferritin was, respectively, associated with 0.11 (p = 8E-04) and 0.19 mg dl- 1 (p = 2E-04) increases in serum urate. There was no evidence for a causal effect of urate on iron/ferritin.
These data replicate the association of ferritin with serum urate. Increased ferritin levels associated with gout and flare frequency. There was evidence of a causal effect of iron and ferritin on urate.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
2
5%
Nursing and Health Professions
2
5%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
2
5%
Other
1
3%
Unknown
19
48%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 11. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 13 August 2025.
All research outputs
#4,034,871
of 33,127,577 outputs
Outputs from Arthritis Research & Therapy
#865
of 4,180 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#59,580
of 362,382 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Arthritis Research & Therapy
#27
of 72 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 33,127,577 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 87th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 4,180 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 9.5. This one has done well, scoring higher than 78% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 362,382 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 83% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 72 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 62% of its contemporaries.
