HFE genotypes and dietary heme iron: No evidence of strong gene–nutrient interaction on serum ferritin concentrations in middle-aged women

Abstract

Background and aim Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a disorder characterized by inappropriately high intestinal iron absorption. In populations of Northern European descent, HH is most commonly caused by mutations (C282Y/H63D) in the HFE gene. Methods and results We investigated the effects of dietary heme iron intake and HFE mutations on serum ferritin concentrations in a population-based random sample of 1611 women aged >50 years using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Higher heme iron intake was associated with significantly higher serum ferritin concentrations ( P trend < 0.001). Also, women with the compound or C282Y homozygous genotype had significantly higher serum ferritin concentrations (geometric mean 115.2 μg/L (95% CI 81.4–162.9 μg/L) than women carrying normal alleles (geometric mean 76.6 μg/L (95% CI 72.5–80.9 μg/L). We observed the highest serum ferritin concentrations among postmenopausal women who are compound heterozygous or C282Y homozygous, and who consume relatively high amounts of heme iron (geometric mean 183.9 μg/L (95% CI 97.2–347.8 μg/L). Conclusions Even when there are currently no clinical signs, women with the compound or C282Y homozygous genotype may still be at risk for developing iron overload sometime after menopause.