UAB and international scientists studying iron-overload disorders have made the unexpected discovery that Asians and Pacific Islanders have the highest levels of iron in their blood of all racial/ethnic groups who were screened. Individuals who develop hemochromatosis/iron overload absorb an excessive amount of iron from food and supplements ingested. The abnormality affects many people worldwide, is prevalent in the South, and sometimes causes organ damage when severe iron deposition occurs due to inadequate control of iron absorption by the small intestine. The first major report of findings in the five-year, 100,000-person study will be published tomorrow, April 28, in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The University of Alabama at Birmingham received $3.1 million of study funds to screen 20,000 people for the group of disorders called hemochromatosis and iron overload.
