From the Guidelines
Iron overload symptoms include fatigue, joint pain, abdominal discomfort, liver damage, heart problems, and skin darkening, and early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent permanent organ damage. According to the most recent study 1, iron overload can lead to various complications, including liver cirrhosis, diabetes, heart failure, and arthritis. The symptoms of iron overload can be vague, with fatigue and weakness being common initial complaints, and as iron accumulates, patients may experience joint pain, abdominal pain, irregular heartbeat, and bronze or gray skin discoloration.
Some of the key symptoms and complications of iron overload include:
- Fatigue and weakness
- Joint pain, particularly in the knuckles
- Abdominal pain
- Irregular heartbeat
- Bronze or gray skin discoloration
- Liver cirrhosis
- Diabetes
- Heart failure
- Arthritis
- Decreased sex drive or impotence in men
- Menstrual irregularities in women
These symptoms occur because excess iron damages tissues and organs by creating free radicals that cause oxidative stress, and the body lacks an efficient way to eliminate excess iron, so it accumulates in organs like the liver, heart, and pancreas, disrupting their normal function.
Treatment typically involves regular phlebotomy (blood removal) to reduce iron levels, with each session removing about 250 mg of iron, and chelation therapy with medications like deferasirox, deferiprone, or deferoxamine may be used when phlebotomy isn't suitable, as recommended by 1 and 1. MRI can be used to non-invasively quantify iron levels in the liver, spleen, pancreas, and heart, and can guide diagnosis and management, as stated in 1.
It's worth noting that the degree of iron overload has a direct impact on life expectancy, and early recognition and intervention may alter outcomes, as mentioned in 1 and 1. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of iron overload are essential to prevent permanent organ damage and improve patient outcomes.
From the FDA Drug Label
In patients with transfusional iron overload, the most frequently occurring (greater than 5%) adverse reactions are diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, skin rashes, and increases in serum creatinine. (6.1)
The symptoms of iron overload include:
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Abdominal pain
- Skin rashes
- Increases in serum creatinine 2
From the Research
Symptoms of Iron Overload
The symptoms of iron overload can vary depending on the severity of the condition. Some common symptoms include:
- Unexplained fatigue 3
- Joint pain 3
- Palpitations 3
- Abdominal pain 3
- Elevated liver function tests 3
- Hepatomegaly (enlargement of the liver) 3
- Elevated serum ferritin 3
- Liver cirrhosis 3, 4, 5
- Cardiomyopathy (heart disease) 3, 4
- Diabetes 3, 4, 5
- Hypogonadism (hormonal imbalance) 3
- Arthritis 3, 4, 5
- Skin pigmentation 5
- Cardiac diseases 5
Organ Damage
Iron overload can cause damage to various organs in the body, including: