Structural equation model for hepcidin, hypoxia/erythropoiesis, iron status and inflammation.

<p>In this exploratory model of the factors associated with serum hepcidin, the sizes of the associations are indicated by the standardized regression coefficients. An inverse association is indicated by a red line. This model was created containing all possible associations between the displayed variables, after which all non-significant arrows (<i>p</i>≥0.05) were removed. A few non-significant correlations, deemed relevant by the authors, were retained in the figure, displayed as dashed arrows. C-reactive protein (CRP) was adjusted for malaria and bacteremia; interleukin 6 (IL-6) was adjusted for bacteremia (omitted for clarity). Iron in stores was defined as bone marrow iron score (0–6) <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0078964#pone.0078964-Gale1" target="_blank">[22]</a>. Insufficient erythrocyte iron incorporation was defined as less than 30% erythroblasts having visible iron granules while having replete iron stores. Erythroblast iron was defined as more than 30% of the erythroblasts having visible iron granules while having replete bone marrow iron stores <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0078964#pone.0078964-Hastka1" target="_blank">[23]</a>. The overall root mean square area of approximation, an indicator for model fit, was 0.288 (95% CI 0.272–0.304).