Resources

Links to information about menopause:

You can find a recent listing of eight menopause support groups in this article. One group that seems particularly active, especially in the UK, is Menopause Cafe. (Note that in the UK you will hear people say "the menopause" rather than just menopause.)

Links to genetic testing for hemochromatosis:

To find out if you have the hemochromatosis gene (HFE) you need a genetic test. You can ask your doctor for this test; however, they may ask for justification (family history, Irish ancestry, high iron levels, or other hemochromatosis symptoms).

If your doctor is not willing, or your insurance won't pay, you can buy a test privately. This can be done through the mail at home, for example with the 23andMe Health + Ancestry package. This gives you a lot of other interesting health data, and at a reasonable price compared to HFE-only tests like this one. In the UK, a reasonably-priced HFE test available from the Haemochromatosis UK charity.

Links to information about hemochromatosis:

A growing number of awareness and support organizations for people dealing with hemochromatosis can be found around the world. Here are just a few of them:

• Hemochromatosis.org

• Iron Disorders Institute

• Haemochromatosis UK

• The Irish Haemochromatosis Association

• American Hemochromatosis Society

• Canadian Hemochromatosis Society (provides an international list of support organizations)

Links to academic papers on iron and menopause:

Jian, Jinlong et al. “Iron and menopause: does increased iron affect the health of postmenopausal women?.” Antioxidants & redox signaling vol. 11,12 (2009): 2939-43. doi:10.1089/ars.2009.2576

Narkhede, H. P., Muddeshwar, M. G., & Mahajan, V. V. (2014). "Breast cancer and serum ferritin-Menopausal status perspective: Menopause-A fickle determinant."

Yun, S., Nguyen, H. D., Park, J. S., Oh, C. and Kim, M.-S. (2022) “The association between the metabolic syndrome and iron status in pre- and postmenopausal women: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) in 2012,” British Journal of Nutrition, Cambridge University Press, 127(4), pp. 630–640.

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