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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staff- Having two copies of a mutated HFE gene. This is the greatest risk factor for hereditary hemochromatosis.
- Family history. If you have a close relative — a parent or sibling — with hemochromatosis, you're more likely to develop the disease.
- Ethnicity. People of Northern European descent — British, Dutch, German, Irish and French — are more prone to hereditary hemochromatosis than are people of other ethnic backgrounds. Hemochromatosis is less common in African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans.
- Being a man. Men are more likely to develop signs and symptoms of hemochromatosis at an earlier age. Because women lose iron with menstruation and pregnancy, they tend to store less of the mineral than men do. After menopause or a hysterectomy, the risk for women increases.
