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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffFactors that increase your risk of hereditary hemochromatosis include:
- Having two copies of a mutated HFE gene. This is the greatest risk factor for hereditary hemochromatosis.
- Family history. If you have a first-degree relative — a parent or sibling — with hemochromatosis, you're more likely to develop the disease.
- Ethnicity. People of Northern European descent are more prone to hereditary hemochromatosis than are people of other ethnic backgrounds. Hemochromatosis is less common in African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans.
- Being a man. Men are more likely to develop signs and symptoms of hemochromatosis at an earlier age. Because women lose iron through menstruation and pregnancy, they tend to store less of the mineral than men do. After menopause or a hysterectomy, the risk for women increases.
References
- Bacon BR, et al. Hemochromatosis. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisinger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/linkTo?type=bookHome&isbn=978-1-4160-6189-2&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6189-2..X0001-7--TOP&uniq=200844987-3. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
- Hemochromatosis. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hemochromatosis/index.htm. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
- Hemochromatosis. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hemo/hemo_all.html. Accessed Aug. 19, 2010.
- Naqvi BH, et al. Hemochromatosis. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2011. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..C2009-0-38600-6--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05610-6&uniq=210978719. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
- Desferal (prescribing information). East Hanover, N.J.: Novartis; 2009. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2009/016267s045lbl.pdf. Accessed Aug. 19, 2010.
- Exjade (prescribing information). East Hanover, N.J.: Novartis; 2010. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2010/021882s010lbl.pdf. Accessed Aug. 18, 2010.
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