title: Age-sex variation and association of 0AB blood groups with haemoglobin level among the adult Dhimals at Naxalbari in West Bengal, India.
abstract: The Dhimals at Naxalbari of the Darjeeling district in West Bengal belong to the Indo-Mongoloid ethnic stock. Dhimal is a comparatively less known small community in North Bengal. The mean age (males = 35.93 +/- 1.14 years and females = 32.59 +/- 1.06 years) of both sexes represent the standard adult population (males = 151 and females = 171). The results show that the haemoglobin levels in both the sexes (males: 9.69 gm/dl and females: 8.82 gm/dl) among the adult Dhimals are very low. This is true in all age groups. The females are found to be more anaemic than males in all ages. Significant sex differences (p < 0.001) in this context were recorded in all ages except among the population of 60 years and above. Young adult females of reproductive ages group (20-39 years) are observed to have a less haemoglobin level (8.86 +/- 0.18 gm/dl) compared to a higher level of haemoglobin (9.29 +/- 0.30 gm/dl) found among the females of over 40 years of age. 50.88 % of the females having a mean haemoglobin level of 7.09 +/- 0.08 gm/dl and 67.56% of the males with a mean haemoglobin level of 10.75 +/- 0.08 gm/dl indicate that larger proportions of the adult Dhimal population are suffering from severe anaemia. Repeated malarial parasite infection is the major reason behind this situation. 49.70% of the total sample of both the sexes is recorded to have B blood group. 47.47% of the male and 53.45% of the female sample with blood group B along with moderately higher proportions of the AB blood group (21.78% in males and 20.22% in females) over comparatively much less frequent A and 0 blood groups in both the sexes indicate a high prevalence of B gene in the Dhimal population. The association of higher mean haemoglobin levels (10.21 +/- 0.14 gm/dl for males and 9.54 +/- 0.14 gm/dl for females) among the individuals of both the sexes with B blood groups compared to lower haemoglobin levels with other blood groups especially 0 and A indicate a selection of the B gene in the Dhimal population for survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Vidyasagar University, Medinipur, West Bengal, India. sdbanik72@yahoo.co.in
authors.forename: Sudip Datta
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Banik
authors.forename: Arpita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jana
authors.forename: Pulakes
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Purkait
authors.forename: Subal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology; D044466:Asian People; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006452:Hemoglobinometry; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008019:Life Style; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D011203:Poverty; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology; D012016:Reference Values; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System