From Santa Rosa, California, USA:
If 10% of all diabetics have iron overload, should juvenile diabetics be screened for this?
It is true that iron overload due to thalassemia or hemochromatosis can destroy the pancreas and lead to diabetes. Thalassemia causes severe anemia and would be diagnosed years before diabetes occurred. Very rarely, mild cases of hemochromatosis may cause diabetes, though this usually has been reported in adults. It is not usually recommended to screen children with diabetes for hemochromatosis unless there is evidence of abnormal liver function in the child or a family history of hemochromatosis or unexplained liver disease.
Original posting 24 May 1998
Posted to Other Illnesses
Last Updated: Tuesday April 06, 2010 15:08:58
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