Screening for thalassemia and other hemoglobinopathies in a tertiary care hospital of West Bengal: implications for population screening.
Hemoglobinopathies are common genetic disorders of hemoglobin, which can be prevented by population screening and offering genetic counseling. In absence of population-based screening for hemoglobinopathies, the hospital-based diagnosis register provide idea about the extent of problem in the community. The present study was undertaken to find out the burden of hemoglobinopathies and spectrum of this disorders among the population who were screened in the hospital-based screening program. A record-basedanalysis of subjects who underwent screening for hemoglobinopathies in Burdwan Medical College and Hospital over a period of 3 years and 4 months revealed that overall 29.3% of subjects were positive for hemoglobinopathies. Beta thalassemia heterozygous was the most commonhemoglobinopathy in this region closely followed by hemoglobin E heterozygous. In view of high prevalence of hemoglobinopathies in this region, a routine premarital screening program is needed for identification and prevention of high-risk marriages.
Department of Pathology, Burdwan Medical College, West Bengal, India. bhutoria@gmail.com
Bhawna Bhutoria
BB
Jain
Rabindra Nath
RN
Roy
Sulekha
S
Ghosh
Tapan
T
Ghosh
Uma
U
Banerjee
Subodh Kumar
SK
Bhattacharya
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005817:Genetic Counseling / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006453:Hemoglobinopathies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D011291:Premarital Examinations; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control