title: Effect of diet on the rate of iron accumulation in idiopathic haemochromatosis.
abstract: There is still controversy concerning the effects of increasing the dietary intake of iron on iron nutrition. This debate has not only centered on the question of efficacy but also on that of safety. At particular potential risk are those individuals with disorders such as idiopathic haemochromatosis, who absorb iron excessively from the diet. Data obtained in the present study and in several other investigations suggest that subjects homozygous for the mutant gene responsible for the disorder would develop clinical features of the disease at a younger age were the dietary iron intake to be increased. Iron stores in affected heterozygotes would increase but the size of the stores would probably equilibrate long before they had reached massive proportions. While these conclusions are drawn from a number of studies, there are enough unanswered questions to make it mandatory for any future fortification programmes, whether they be directed at the entire population or only at certain segments of it, to be carefully monitored. This can currently be achieved with serial plasma ferritin measurements, since the concentrations mirror the size of iron stores in the body.
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood; D005527:Food, Fortified; D006432:Hemochromatosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron