Elevated serum transferrin receptor concentration in children with juvenile chronic arthritis as evidence of iron deficiency

Objectives. Active juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) is accompanied by anaem ia of chronic disease, which may be indistinguishable from anaemia due to i ron deficiency. We speculate that elevation of the serum transferrin recept or (sTfR) concentration, which should not be influenced by inflammation, wo uld be useful for detecting the role of iron status in anaemic children wit h JCA. Methods. sTfR concentrations were measured in 30 children with JCA. Results. The median sTfR was elevated, 6.1 (range 3.4-13.0) mg/l. In 13 pat ients (43%) the concentrations exceeded the upper limit for healthy subject s. Haemoglobin (r = - 0.48, P = 0.008), mean corpuscular volume (r = - 0.47 , P = 0.009) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (r = - 0.65, P = 0.0001) corr elated inversely with sTfR concentration. Conclusions. In 13 of the 30 patients with JCA, the sTfR concentration, whi ch is an indicator of iron status and erythropoiesis, was elevated. The res ults raise the possibility that sTfR is able to distinguish iron-deficiency anaemia from anaemia of chronic disease. It should be Further explored as a candidate.