# Assessment of Urinary Ferritin as a Non-Invasive Diagnostic Test for Iron Deficiency Anemia in Pediatric Populations: A Case-Control Study

## TL;DR

This study finds that measuring urinary ferritin is not a reliable non-invasive method to diagnose iron deficiency anemia in children.

## Contribution

The study evaluates urinary ferritin as a potential non-invasive diagnostic tool for iron deficiency anemia in pediatric populations.

## Key findings

- Urinary ferritin showed lower diagnostic accuracy compared to serum ferritin for iron deficiency anemia.
- There was a weak positive correlation (Spearman coefficient 0.155) between serum and urinary ferritin levels.
- The study concludes that urinary ferritin is not a reliable alternative for diagnosing iron deficiency.

## Abstract

Iron deficiency anemia is the most prevalent form of anemia worldwide and can cause complications in children and adolescents. This study investigates the correlation between serum and urinary ferritin and evaluates the feasibility of using urinary ferritin to diagnose iron deficiency.

In this case-control study, 45 patients with iron deficiency anemia were included in the case group and 45 healthy children in the control group. From each participant, 1.5 mL blood and 5 mL of urine were collected, and serum and urinary ferritin levels were measured using the chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) method with Mindray kits. The results were analyzed and compared using SPSS software, version 16 (IBM Corp).

The mean age of patients was 7.95 years, and that of controls was 7.26 years. Female patients constituted 62.2% of the case group, and female controls represented 46.7% of the control group. In patients, the mean serum ferritin level was 13.39 ng/mL (SD = 6.37), and the mean urinary ferritin level was 3.50 ng/mL (SD = 2.65). In controls, the mean serum ferritin level was 63.7 ng/mL (SD = 41.8), and the mean urinary ferritin level was 3.98 ng/mL (SD = 2.89). Urinary ferritin demonstrated lower diagnostic accuracy for iron deficiency anemia compared with serum ferritin. The Spearman correlation coefficient between serum and urinary ferritin was 0.155, indicating a weak positive correlation.

The findings of this study demonstrate an insignificant relationship between urine and serum ferritin levels. These findings indicate that urinary ferritin is not a reliable non-invasive alternative for diagnosing iron deficiency.