…oh, btw –
Hereditary haemochromatosis is an autosomal recessive disorder with a genetic prevalence of 0.4% in northern Europeans but a much lower clinical penetrance
Those affected are at increased risk of cirrhosis of the liver and hepatocellular carcinoma
Symptoms are often non-specific at presentation and include fatigue and arthropathy
If transferrin saturation and serum ferritin are raised, test for C282Y mutation of the HFE gene
First degree relatives of patients with clinically overt haemochromatosis can be screened for C282Y and H63D polymorphisms
Regular phlebotomy is the main treatment, although newly developed therapeutic approaches show promise