Prevalence and hematologic profile of δβ0-thalassemia trait in Sulaimani province Iraqi Kurdistan

Abstract EN

Background and Objectives δβ0 thalassemia is a rare form of hemoglobinopathies in Eastern Mediterranean region, including Iraq.

Few studies have focused on the prevalence and hematological profile of this hemoglobinopathy and most included rather small number of cases.

The study aimed to study the prevalence and hematological profile of δβ0 thalassemia among a large number of premarital couples in Northern Iraqi province of Sulaimani.

Methods A total of 52370 subjects attending Sulaimani Provincial Premarital Screening Clinic were screened for δβ0 thalassemia trait using red cell indices, followed by Hb HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) and iron status estimation.

The study also included a comparison between the hematologic parameters in the latter group and comparable numbers of age and sex matched β-thalassemia trait, iron deficiency anemia and a healthy control group.

Results Based on the above investigations, 51 (0.1%) of screened individuals were found to have δβ0 thalassemia trait, with age range from 17-47 years, including 23 males and 28 females.

The δβ0 thalassemia carriers showed reduced MCV, MCH like β thalassemia and iron deficients and although Hb, PCV, MCH, MCV and RBC values showed no statistically significant difference between δβ0 thalassemia carriers and β thalassemia carriers , the mean RDW (Red Cell Distribution Width ) value was significantly higher in δβ0 thalassemia (20.8 + 2.7) compared to β thalassemia (14.9 + 0.8) and iron deficiency anemia (15.7+ 1.5).

Moreover it was observed that 62.7% of δβ0 thalassemia carriers had raised RDW above 20%, while only 1.9% of individuals with iron deficiency had such high RDW values.

Conclusion The prevalence of δβ0 thalassemia trait in Sulaimani province is comparable to reports from other parts of Iraq and some of the Mediterranean countries.

Furthermore, it appears that the RDW would be a useful parameter to differentiate this hemoglobinopathy from β thalassemia trait and Iron deficiency.