Iron storage disease in parents and sibs of infants with neonatal hemochromatosis: 30‐ year follow‐up

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Abstract
Neonatal hemochromatosis (NH), an uncommon and generally fatal disorder of infancy, is defined by hepatic disease of antenatal onset, generally manifest at birth, and by stainable iron in a tissue distribution like that seen in heritable adult‐onset hemochromatosis (HH). It is not known if parents and sibs of infants with NH are at risk of iron storage disease in later life. We provide 30‐year follow‐up for iron overload of a family in which 6 of 9 children died in utero or early in the neonatal period. Four of the 6 came to autopsy, where severe liver disease was found; in 3 of the 4, autopsy material could be reviewed. These 3 children had NH. Studies 30 years later did not identify HH or other iron storage disease in the parents or surviving sibs. These findings suggest that first‐degree relatives of persons with NH are not necessarily at increased risk of iron storage disease in later life.