[Idiopathic hemochromatosis: association with antigens of the HLA system]

HLA-A3 and HLA-B7 antigens were detected significantly more frequently in a group of 59 patients with idiopathic hemochromatosis than in a general population. The haplotype most commonly associated with the disease was A3B7. No differences in disease severity were to be found between homozygotic and heterozygotic carriers of this haplotype and patients with other haplotypes. An increased prevalence was also found for the HLA-A9 antigen. The haplotypes A9B7 and A9B27 were significantly more common among the patients investigated than among the general population.