THE ROLE OF HEPCIDIN IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA IN CHRONIC DISEASES

Hepcidin is a 25-amino-acid peptide hormone encoded by the HAMP gene and is the central regulator of iron homeostasis in the body. This article provides a comparative analysis of the role of hepcidin in the development of iron deficiency anemia and anemia of inflammation in four major chronic diseases — chronic kidney disease (CKD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), chronic heart failure (CHF), and oncological diseases — based on real statistical data from published studies (mean values, standard deviations, p-values, correlation coefficients). The results reveal the disease-specific behavior of hepcidin: it increases in conditions where inflammation predominates and decreases in conditions where the erythropoietic drive predominates.