title: Influence of alpha-thalassemia trait on the prevalence and severity of anemia in pregnancy among women in Kuwait.
abstract: Alpha-thalassemia is very common in the Kuwaiti population, but its influence on anemia of pregnancy has not been previously investigated. We have screened a group of 59 anemic (Hb < 11 g/dl) pregnant women for the alpha-thal-2 (-alpha-3.7 kb) deletion which is the commonest alpha-thal allele in this community, using a polymerase chain reaction method. A control group of 35 nonanemic (Hb > or = 11 g/dl) pregnant women was studied for comparison. All the women were in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. Among the 94 women in both groups, 69 (73.4%) had a normal complement of alpha-globin genes (alphaalpha/alphaalpha), 18 (19.1%) were heterozygotes (-alpha/alphaalpha) and 7 (7.4%) were homozygotes (-alpha/-alpha) giving an allele frequency of 17.0%. Among the anemic group, there were 44 (74.6%) individuals with a normal genotype, 9 (15.3%) heterozygotes and 6 (10.2%) homozygotes. In the nonanemic group, the corresponding prevalence figures were 25 (71.4%), 9 (25.7%) and 1 (2.9%), respectively. The difference between these distributions was statistically significant (chi2 = 37.5, p < 0.0001). However, the mean Hb values were similar in heterozygotes, homozygotes and normal individuals. We, therefore, conclude that while the alpha-thal trait affects the prevalence of anemia among pregnant Kuwaiti women, it does not affect its severity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Diejomaoh
authors.forename: M Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Haider
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dalal
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abdulaziz
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: D'Souza
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Adekile
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D006580:Genetic Carrier Screening; D006455:Hemoglobins, Abnormal / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007730:Kuwait / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011250:Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017085:alpha-Thalassemia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D006455:Hemoglobins, Abnormal