Biochemical analysis
inflammation
INFLAMMATION
Non-fasted blood samples were collected at the baseline and the end of the study to measure iron status markers including serum iron, transferrin, ferritin, sTfR, iron saturation, iron binding as well as C-reactive protein (CRP) levels as a marker of inflammation. All biomarkers were analysed at Medlab Central-Palmerston North, New Zealand. In this study, participants were defined as iron-deficient or depleted if they had ferritin <30 μg/l or sTfR was >1⋅76 mg/l. Systemic inflammation was defined as a CRP concentration >5 mg/l. These values are according to hospital-based clinical laboratory reference, and previously published cut-offs