Table_2_Iron metabolism patterns in non-anemic patients with myasthenia gravis: A cross-sectional and follow-up study.docx

Background and purposeIron metabolism in myasthenia gravis (MG) and factors associated with it are explored by few published studies. Therefore, this study aimed to compare iron metabolism patterns between patients with MG and healthy individuals as well as between the same group of patients before and after immunotherapy, and to identify predictors of iron metabolism disorders in MG.
Materials and methodsFor this study, 105 patients and healthy individuals were included at baseline, after which paired parametric and non-parametric tests were adopted to compare their iron metabolism patterns, and multivariate binary logistic regression was used to identify predictors of iron metabolism disorders. Patients with MG were then followed up for 12 ± 3 months to explore alterations in their iron metabolism patterns after starting immunotherapy with the help of paired tests.
ResultsNon-anemic immunotherapy-naive patients with MG had significantly lower serum iron (SI) and transferrin saturation (TS) levels than healthy individuals. Premenopausal female was significantly associated with SI < 65 μg/dL and iron deficiency in these patients. However, iron metabolism parameters did not significantly alter after around 12 months of immunotherapy in patients with MG.
ConclusionIron inadequacy was present in patients with MG, particularly premenopausal female patients, and it would hardly improve after immunotherapy. Given the significant role of iron in human body, it should be given more attention in patients with MG.

研究背景与目的
目前已发表的关于重症肌无力（myasthenia gravis, MG）患者铁代谢及其相关影响因素的研究较为匮乏。本研究旨在对比重症肌无力患者与健康人群的铁代谢特征，以及同一组患者接受免疫治疗前后的铁代谢变化，并筛选重症肌无力患者铁代谢紊乱的预测因素。

材料与方法
本研究共纳入105名受试者，包括重症肌无力患者与健康对照个体作为基线队列。研究采用配对参数检验与非参数检验对比两组的铁代谢特征，并通过多因素二元logistic回归分析筛选重症肌无力患者铁代谢紊乱的预测因素。随后对重症肌无力患者进行为期12±3个月的随访，借助配对检验分析其接受免疫治疗后铁代谢参数的变化情况。

研究结果
未合并贫血且未接受过免疫治疗的重症肌无力患者，其血清铁（serum iron, SI）与转铁蛋白饱和度（transferrin saturation, TS）水平显著低于健康人群。绝经前女性与该类患者的血清铁<65μg/dL及铁缺乏状态显著相关。然而，重症肌无力患者接受约12个月免疫治疗后，其铁代谢参数未发生显著改变。

研究结论
重症肌无力患者存在铁代谢不足的情况，尤以绝经前女性患者为甚，且该状态在接受免疫治疗后难以得到改善。鉴于铁在人体生理活动中发挥的重要作用，临床应对重症肌无力患者的铁代谢状态予以更多关注。