Iron Overload

Doctors have been on the alert to check their patients carefully for anemia, but most older people have too much iron in their bodies, not too little, according to a recent study. Researcher Diana Fleming and colleagues at Tufts University in Boston and Boston University studied more than 1,000 people aged 67 to 96 for iron status.

It was found that older people on a typical Western diet that is rich in red meat are at risk for iron overload, especially if they use supplements that contain iron. Nearly 13% of participants were found to have too much iron, while only 3% were deficient enough to put them at risk for anemia.

Having too much iron in the blood can put people at risk for cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Several studies have shown that people in industrialized nations who donate blood regularly are at reduced risk for heart attack, and it is thought to be due to the lowering of iron stores.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2001;73(3):638-646.