Korean J Fam Pract. 2018; 8(4): 530-534  https://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2018.8.4.530
The Association between Serum Ferritin and Menstrual Irregularity in Female Adults in Korea
Dong-Won Kim1, Do-Hoon Kim1,*, Seung-Hyun Lee1, Chung-Woo Lee1, Hyonchong Kim1, SooGyeong Park1, Da-Eun Seul1, Joo-Hyun Park1, Shinhye Kim1, Moonyoung Choi1, Jin-Hyung Jung2, Kyungdo Han2
1Department of Family Medicine, Ansan Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Ansan; 2Department of Biostatics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
Do-Hoon Kim Tel: +82-31-412-4261, Fax: +82-31-412-5364 E-mail: kmcfm@hanmail.net ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7421-4501
Received: June 27, 2017; Revised: October 20, 2017; Accepted: October 24, 2017; Published online: August 20, 2018.
© The Korean Academy of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Menstrual irregularity is common in women of reproductive age. High serum ferritin is an inflammatory marker and is associated with metabolic diseases and an iron overload. We investigated the relationship between menstrual irregularity and serum ferritin levels in adult Korean women.
Methods: We analyzed data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2010 and 2012. We investigated 4,619 premenopausal women aged between 19 and 54 years (excluding pregnant women). All women completed a self-administered questionnaire to determine menstrual irregularity. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed using ferritin as a covariate to investigate the relationship between menstrual irregularity and serum ferritin levels.
Results: In the present study, Korean women with high serum ferritin levels showed a high odds ratio for menstrual irregularity. Analysis of the prevalence of menstrual irregularity on the basis of the quartiles of serum ferritin levels showed an increased prevalence of menstrual irregularity in the presence of high serum ferritin levels.
Conclusion:. Menstrual irregularity in Korean women is associated with increased serum ferritin levels.
Keywords: Menstrual Cycle; Ferritins; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; Metabolic Syndrome
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