title: Prevalence of α(+)-Thalassemia in the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Populations of Damoh District in Madhya Pradesh, Central India.
abstract: This study was carried out to ascertain the allelic frequency of α(+)-thalassemia (α(+)-thal) in Scheduled caste and scheduled tribe populations of the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Random blood samples of Scheduled tribe (267) and Scheduled caste (168), considering the family as a sampling unit, were analyzed for the presence of the -α(3.7) (rightward) (NG_000006.1: g.34164_37967del3804) and -α(4.2) (leftward) (AF221717) deletions. α(+)-Thal was significantly higher in the Scheduled tribals (77.9%) as compared to the scheduled caste population (9.0%). About 58.0% scheduled tribals carried at least one chromosome with the -α(3.7) deletion and 20.0% scheduled tribals carried the -α(4.2) deletion. Frequency for the -α(3.7) allele was 0.487 in the scheduled tribal populations in comparison to 0.021 in scheduled castes. Allelic frequency for -α(4.2) was 0.103 and 0.024, respectively, in the above communities. No Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for α-thal gene (p < 0.05) was detected in the tribal population, indicating the presence of selection pressures in favor of α-thal mutation and adaptation.
authors.affiliation: a National Institute for Research in Tribal Health (NIRTH), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) , Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh , India.
authors.forename: Mendi P S S
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: a National Institute for Research in Tribal Health (NIRTH), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) , Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh , India.
authors.forename: Rasik B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: a National Institute for Research in Tribal Health (NIRTH), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) , Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh , India.
authors.forename: Rajiv
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yadav
authors.affiliation: a National Institute for Research in Tribal Health (NIRTH), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) , Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh , India.
authors.forename: Ravendra K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: a National Institute for Research in Tribal Health (NIRTH), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) , Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh , India.
authors.forename: Rajasubramaniam
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shanmugam
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D044382:Population Groups / Q000235:genetics*; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D017085:alpha-Thalassemia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics
keywords: Central India; Scheduled caste; Scheduled tribe; glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD); sickle cell disease; α+-thalassemia (α+-thal); β-thalassemia (β-thal)