Question: Iron and Death Rate In February 2012, the magazine Health After 50 reported on the Iowa Women's Health Study. Experts used a questionnaire to collect data from 39,000 women 55-69 years old concerning their dietary supplements. After 19 years they looked at death rates. Many of the supplements were associated with a higher risk of death, iron being the most notable: The higher the dose of iron taken, the higher the death risk. Does this study show that consumption of iron causes higher death rates?