HEIRS

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The purpose of the project is to determine the prevalence of primary iron overload in the African-American and Hispanic population of the Washington, D.C. area as part of a 5-year nationwide iron overload screening program b the National Institutes of Health. The primary hypothesis of the study is that non-HFE primary iron overload exists in the African American population. Year 1 will be devoted to planning, protocol development and pilot testing. In Years 2 and 3, an intial screening program, by determining the transferrin saturation and serum ferritin concentration in 20,000 subjects, will be conducted. Approximately 16,000 African American and 4,000 Hispanic patients will be screened at primary care facilities of Howard University Hospital and other institutions. Subjects with transferrin saturation and/or serum ferritin concentration above the 97.5 percentile (projected to be about 4.9% of the total or 980 subjects) will be followed up with a repeat determination of transferrin saturation and serum ferritin concentration. Subjects with confirmed elevations (projected to be about 20% of the subjects having repeat determinations or about 198 individuals) will undergo comprehensive clinical examinations during Years 2, 3 and 4. It is projected that primary iron overload will be found in about one-half (100) of the subjects undergoing comprehensive examination, and family studies will be performed on approximately 400 relatives of these subjects during Years 3 and 4. Subjects with primary iron overload will be followed during Years 2 to 5 of the study, with regards to morbidity and mortality. Assessments of Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI) will be done throughout the research program.