Low prevalence of hereditary hemochromatosis in multiethnic populations in Northern Norway.

Objective: Hereditary hemochromatosis has an autosomal recessive inheritance. The C282Y homozygosity is the most common genetic mutation in persons of Northern European descent. A screen of two multiethnic populations in Northern Norway was performed to investigate whether the prevalence of hereditary hemochromatosis was consistent with previous results in Northern Europe.

Material And Methods: Participants in two population-based studies in Northern Norway were analyzed for serum ferritin (s-ferritin) and transferrin saturation. Participants with s-ferritin or transferrin saturation above the reference limits in two separate blood samples were tested for three different HFE mutations, namely C282Y, H63D and S65.

Results: The estimated prevalence of the C282Y/C282Y mutation in the two municipalities studied was lower than in comparable studies in Norway. The prevalence was the lowest in the Sør-Varanger population (men 0.19% and women 0.22%), which also had the highest proportion of individuals with Sami and Kven affiliation. In Tromsø, the prevalence was consistent with previous results in Norway.

Conclusions: The prevalence of hereditary hemochromatosis is lower in multiethnic populations in Northern Norway than in previous studies from other parts of Norway.