Objectives: Our objectives were to study the relationship between iron stores, HFE genotypes and the risk for first-ever myocardial infarction.
Methods: First-ever myocardial infarction cases (n=618) and double matched referents from the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Cohort Study were studied in a prospective nested case-referent setting. Plasma iron, total iron binding capacity, transferrin iron saturation and ferritin were analyzed, as well as several confounders. HFE C282Y and H63D genotypes were determined.
Results: There was an inverse risk association for myocardial infarction in the highest quartiles of iron (OR 0.68; 95% CI 0.48-0.96) and transferrin iron saturation (OR 0.62; 95% CI 0.42-0.89) in men. This association, however, was lost after adjusting for C-reactive protein. Women homozygous for H63D had a higher risk for myocardial infarction.
Conclusions: No risk association between high iron stores and first-ever myocardial infarction was found. The higher risk in female H63D homozygotes is probably not related to iron metabolism.
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