Feb. 6 (iVillage Total Health) -- Women with type 2 diabetes may be at greater risk of developing coronary heart disease if they consume large amounts of iron in red meats, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health's Department of Nutrition found that iron overloads over a long period of time increased the risk of coronary heart disease, nonfatal myocardial infarction (heart attack ) and the need for coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty for diabetic women.

The study used data collected in the Nurses' Health Study, a long-term assessment of medical histories of 121,700 female registered nurses ages 30 to 55. The Harvard researchers selected 6,161 of the women -- those who indicated they had type 2 diabetes . Participants were tracked from 1980 to 2000 and given periodic questionnaires assessing their health, food intake and incidence of chronic diseases and illness.

Researchers noted that little is known about the health effects of dietary iron on cardiovascular risk in diabetes. So-called "heme iron" is iron derived from red meat, poultry and seafood. For this study, red meat was defined as beef, pork or lamb in a main dish, hamburger, hot dogs, processed meats and bacon.

The study found that heme iron intake was also associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease and death, especially among postmenopausal women. Researchers believed that because premenopausal women lose a significant amount of iron during their monthly menstrual cycles, they may be less likely to develop coronary heart problems.

Researchers could not be certain how much of the heart disease link may have been due to saturated fats found in red meats. Saturated fats contain cholesterol , fatty deposits that clog blood vessels and lead to high blood pressure and heart disease.

The study was published in the January issue of Diabetes Care, the journal of the American Diabetes Association.

Copyright 2007 iVillage Total Health.