Prevalence of HFE (hemochromatosis gene) mutations in unselected male patients with type 2 diabetes

To assess the prevalence of mutations in the HFE (hemochromatosis) gene in unselected male patients with type 2 diabetes, we examined 220 white men wi thout known diabetes and 220 age-matched white men with type 2 diabetes for mutations in the HFE gene. Nucleotide 845 (C282Y) and 187 (H63D) alleles w ere amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with lymphocyte DNA, The P CR products were analyzed by restriction enzyme digestion. One of the 220 p atients (0.45%) with diabetes was homozygous for the HFE 845A (C282Y) mutat ion and 25 (11.3%) were heterozygous for the same mutation, of whom 3 (1.3% ) were compound heterozygotes also carrying the HFE 187G (H63D) mutation, T hese frequencies did not differ significantly from the control population w ithout diabetes. There is no evidence that HFE mutations are found in exces s in unselected male patients with type 2 diabetes, and there is no indicat ion for a population-based search for an excess of these alleles in type 2 diabetes.