Also called iron overload disorder, is one of the most common genetic disorders in the United States. This autosomal recessive disorder is characterized by abnormal retention of iron through increased iron absorption in the intestine, leading to symptoms and complications such as bronzed skin, cirrhosis and cancer of the liver, diabetes and heart failure. Symptoms appear slowly and the disease is often undiagnosed, or diagnosed too late to prevent the worst complications. The disease is thought to be one of the most common genetic disorders - about one in nine Caucasian Americans carries a recessive mutation in the HFE gene, which regulates the amount of iron absorbed from food. Two mutations, named C282Y and H63D, can cause the disease. A person who inherits the defective gene from only one parent is a carrier for the disease but usually does not develop it. However, carriers might have a slight increase in iron absorption. Not everyone who inherits two such mutations develops the disease, however, suggesting other factors may be at work.

This definition is in context to Female Health. See more contextual defintions for Hemochromatosis.