About one in 200 carries two abnormal genes-and is likely to have significant problems from the disease. If one person in a family is found to have iron overload disease, it's likely that another person in the family may have it, too. Hemochromatosis is most often diagnosed when a person is between 40 and 60 years old, but it can be detected in younger and older people. Younger men and women can have problems at an earlier age. Women often develop symptoms at a later age than men because women lose significant amounts of iron through menstruation, pregnancy, and lactation.
Iron overload can be lethal unless it is detected and treated.
Hereditary hemochromatosis is an inherited genetic disorder and cannot be prevented through diet or other lifestyle behaviors. The best way to avoid the complications hemochromatosis can cause is to get screened and diagnosed early. Screening is done through a simple blood test. Because there may be no symptoms in the early stages of iron overload, and that is when it is most easily and effectively treated, it is important that you get screened. A pathologist can determine the amount of iron in your blood.