The American journal of medicine
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Multicenter Study
African Americans at risk for increased iron stores or liver disease.
We sought to determine the prevalence of elevated measures of iron status in African Americans and whether the combination of serum ferritin concentration >200 microg/L for women or >300 microg/L for men and transferrin saturation in the highest quartile represents increased likelihood of mutation of HFE, self-reported iron overload or self-reported liver disease. ⋯ Serum ferritin concentration >200 microg/L for women or >300 microg/L for men in combination with transferrin saturation >29% for women or >35% for men occurs in approximately 7% of adult African American primary care patients. Patients with this combination of iron test results should be evaluated for increased body iron stores or liver disease.