Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39807019›Full record

ArticleTransfusion2025

Iron deficiency and infection risk in Danish blood donors.

Nanna Brøns, Kathrine Agergård Kaspersen, Jakob Thaning Bay, Joseph Dowsett, Christian Erikstrup, Henrik Hjalgrim, Bitten Aagaard, Christina Mikkelsen, Susan Mikkelsen, Ole Birger Pedersen and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Transfusion, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Nanna BrønsDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9912-2806
Kathrine Agergård KaspersenDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Jakob Thaning BayDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark.
Joseph DowsettDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5381-2633
Christian ErikstrupDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Henrik HjalgrimDepartment of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Bitten AagaardDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
Christina MikkelsenDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Susan MikkelsenDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Ole Birger PedersenDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark.
Klaus RostgaardDepartment of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6220-9414
Michael SchwinnDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Erik SørensenDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Andreas Stribolt RigasDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Andreas GlenthøjDepartment of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Sisse Rye OstrowskiDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Funding

Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWe aimed to investigate if iron deficiency was associated with infection susceptibility in a large cohort of healthy individuals. STUDY DESIGN AND

methodsThe Danish Blood Donor Study is a national ongoing prospective study of blood donors. We included 94,628 donors with 338,290 ferritin measurements from March 2010 to October 2022. We performed sex-stratified multivariable Cox regression to estimate the risk of infection for iron-deficient donors compared with iron-replete donors. Infection was defined as either a filled prescription of antibiotics registered in the Danish National Prescription Registry (NPR), or a hospital contact with infection registered in the Danish National Patient Registry (DNPR).

resultsIron deficiency was associated with an overall increased risk of infection (defined as prescriptions of antibiotics) for women (hazard ratio [HR] 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.15). Subgroup analyses showed an increased risk of respiratory tract infections (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.05-1.28) and urinary tract infections (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.04-1.29). Iron deficiency was not associated with overall risk of infection for men (HR 1.02, 95% CI 0.82-1.28). For both men and women, no association was found between iron deficiency and hospital contacts for infections.

conclusionIron deficiency was associated with an increased risk of infection in female blood donors. However, effect sizes were small, and there was no association between iron deficiency and hospital contacts for infection. Consequently, risk of infection should not be considered an apprehension regarding blood donation. These findings support the role of iron in immune function and monitorization of iron stores in female blood donors.

Indexed as

Blood DonorsInfectionsIron DeficienciesAdultDenmarkFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesRegistriesRisk FactorsUrinary Tract Infectionsblood donorsferritininfectioniron deficiency

Identifiers

PMID39807019
PMCPMC11826298

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.