Thalassaemia screening in a non-prevalent region of a prevalent country (Turkey): is it necessary?
OBJECTIVE
Haemoglobinopathies are the most widespread inherited disorders in the world, and are also common in Turkey. Haemoglobinopathies are preventable with control programmes. Therefore, the Ministry of Health initiated a control and prevention programme in 33 provinces in Turkey. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of haemoglobinopathies in Erzurum as part of the programme mentioned above, and to discuss the need for premarital screening in a non-prevalent region (Erzurum) of a prevalent country (Turkey) as part of a national control programme.


METHODS
Epidemiological and descriptive survey.


METHODS
This study was conducted between May 2005 and February 2006 in Erzurum. Subjects were couples who attended for premarital screening. All blood samples were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to determine haemoglobinopathies.


RESULTS
In total, 1610 individuals were screened. The frequency of beta-thalassaemia trait was 0.68%. Haemoglobin D was the most common (0.12%) abnormal haemoglobin. Haemoglobins S, C and E were not detected. The frequency of beta-thalassaemia trait and other haemoglobinopathies in Erzurum was quite low compared with other provinces in Turkey.


CONCLUSIONS
Premarital haemoglobinopathy screening should not be mandatory in a non-prevalent region of a prevalent country as part of a national control programme. If screening is mandatory, it should be performed by total blood count or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, which are simple, rapid and less expensive than HPLC.
Acemoglu
H
H
Department of Medical Education, Ataturk University School of Medicine, 25240 Erzurum, Turkey. hamitacemoglu@yahoo.com
Beyhun
N E
NE
Vancelik
S
S
Polat
H
H
Guraksin
A
A
D000328:Adult; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D006453:Hemoglobinopathies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D013789:Thalassemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology