Serum Hepcidin Levels Are Associated With Obesity but Not Liver Disease

OBJECTIVE: Hepcidin is regulated by anemia and inflammation. It is primarily expressed in the liver but studies have reported its expression in adipose tissue. We investigated the relationship between BMI and serum hepcidin and also examined the relationship between liver histology and serum hepcidin in the morbidly obese. DESIGN AND METHODS: Serum and liver tissue from patients undergoing bariatric surgery (bariatric cohort, n=105) and serum from healthy blood donors (n=60) were used to conduct this study. Serum hepcidin was measured using sandwich ELISA, highly specific for hepcidin-25. Serum ferritin, IL-6, IL-1β and liver function biochemistries were also measured. RESULTS: After controlling for covariates, BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 was significantly associated with higher serum hepcidin level compared to individuals with lower BMI groups (17.7 ± 11.5 vs. 3.3 ± 4.7 ng/ml, P=0.002). Presence of NAFLD was not associated with higher serum levels of hepcidin (multivariate P=0.37) There was no association between serum hepcidin levels and liver histology (presence of steatohepatitis, advanced fibrosis, or NAFLD activity score) in the bariatric cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity, but not the presence of NAFLD was associated with serum hepcidin levels. There was no association between serum hepcidin and liver histology in the morbidly obese undergoing bariatric surgery.