Prevalence of Hemoglobinopathy C in Patients with Anemia in Khuzestan Province

Abstract

Objective: Hemoglobinopathies are the most common single-gene disorders in the world, and the global burden of disease is increasing day by day every year. The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of hemoglobinopathy C and its relationship with hematological indices in patients presenting with anemia.

Materials and Methods: In this analytical epidemiological study, the results of capillary electrophoresis tests of patients referred to the Baqaei Hospital and the reference laboratories of Khuzestan Province in 2023 were evaluated. Totally, 11000 patients diagnosed with anemia by a physician were examined. Blood indices of patients with hemoglobinopathy were compared with the normal range.

Results: Among 11000 patients, 13 patients had hemoglobinopathy C. In other words, the prevalence of this disease in Khuzestan province was 0.136%. The median hemoglobin in female and male was 12.2±2.5 and 13.7±2.7 gr/dl. Comparison of the normal range of hemoglobin with the patients' hemoglobin values indicated a decrease in this index (P<0.05). The median hemoglobin A2 index among the patients was 3.1±0.7, while the normal value of this index is 1.5 to 3.5, this index was within the normal range in patients. The median hemoglobin C in patients was 34.4±5.8. While the normal hemoglobin C level is in the range of 23.5 to 93.8, this index was significantly lower than the normal range.

Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, 13 patients had hemoglobinopathy C (0.136%). Hematological indices except hemoglobin in these patients were not significantly different from normal levels. Further multicenter studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to confirm these results.