Relationship of Serum Transferrin to Total Iron Binding Capacity for Nutritional Assessment

To evaluate the relationship of serum transferrin, serum albumin, and total iron binding capacity, 100 patients were selected and simultaneous measurements of each parameter were made. In contrast to some studies, the relationship of serum transferrin to total iron binding capacity was found to be linear. The relationship was: Serum transferrin = (total iron binding capacity X 0.76) + 18. Serum transferrin was also seen to correlate with transferrin and total iron binding capacity. The measurement of total iron binding capacity, because of its relationship to transferrin, may be used to aid in the determination of the nutritional assessment of hospitalized patients.