Iron overload appears to raise diabetes risk
diabetes in healthy women. independent of known diabetes risk
factors, report researchers in this week's issue of JAMA.
The study investigated the iron levels in blood samples from 1414 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study. It found that increased levels of iron raised the risk of diabetes with those in the highest levels of iron, nearly three times more likely to have diabetes than those with the lowest levels.
Type 2 diabetes is a common manifestation of hemochromatosis, a disease of iron overload but higher iron stores had not previously been shown to predict the development of type 2 diabetes in a healthy population.
Iron levels were also found to raise diabetes risk even after adjusting for other risk factors, such as family history and total calorie intake.
A high intake of iron has previously been associated with increased risk for heart disease, and in combination with high manganese intake, may be related to risk for Parkinson's disease, according to some research.
However nutritionists have stressed that such risks are far lower than those related to deficiency of the nutrient, vital for optimal health.
