September is Menopause Awareness Month. It’s important for
postmenopausal women to be aware of their increased risk for a
variety of health conditions including iron overload in those
with hereditary hemochromatosis. Hereditary hemochromatosis is a
common genetic condition that makes a person more prone to
absorbing too much iron. Premenopausal women are largely
protected from iron overload because of menstruation and
pregnancy, but typically around menopause some women begin to
experience symptoms of the condition. A study published in the
late 1990’s with 176 women and 176 men with hemochromatosis,
matched by age, found that a significant number of the women
suffered serious complications from hemochromatosis, and
developed their first symptoms only a little later than the men.
On average, the women in the study showed symptoms around age
50, while the men showed signs nearly two years earlier. Roughly
half of the women had stopped menstruating at the time of
diagnosis, but the other half were technically p