ABSTRACT
Background: Thalassemia and hemoglobinopathies are a group of inherited conditions characterized by abnormalities in the synthesis or structure of hemoglobin (Hb). According to estimates, approximately 7% of the world population is a carrier of Hb disorders, leading to high morbidity and mortality. To reduce the burden of these highly prevalent monogenic disorders, detecting them in the carrier stage is crucial to prevent disease progression. Aim: We aimed to estimate the prevalence and spectrum of hemoglobinopathies in females in the reproductive (20–40 years) age group. Settings and Design: It was a retrospective observational study carried out for 2.5 years (from January 2018 till June 2020). Materials and Methods: All the females in the age group of 20–40 years age whose blood samples were received in the department for High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) were included. The cases with abnormal HPLC findings were analyzed for hematological parameters including hemoglobin, RBC count, and RBC indices [mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), & red cell distribution width - coefficient of variation (RDW-CV)]. Statistical Analysis: Statistical package for social science (SPSS) statistics 21 version for Microsoft Windows (Chicago, USA) was used for statistical analysis of data. The data were described in terms of range, mean ± standard deviation (SD), frequencies (number of cases), and relative frequencies (percentage) as appropriate. Results: During the study period, 72.2% of the females were affected with ?-thalassemia trait, followed by HbD Punjab trait (17.8%), HbQ India trait (2.9%), ?-thalassemia major (1.8%), and two cases (1.2%) each of HbS trait, HbD Iran trait, and compound heterozygous of HbD Punjab and ?-thalassaemia, whereas HbE trait, compound heterozygous of HbQ and ?-thalassemia, compound heterozygous of HbJ-variant and ?-thalassemia had one case each (0.6%). Conclusion: Preventive strategies are cost-effective and include population screening, premarital screening, screening of spouses, genetic counseling, and prenatal diagnosis. Educating the carrier females about the potential risk and various screening methods may help in controlling the disease.
ABSTRACT
Research around the world has indicated that the demand for egg donation has grown considerably among young females. This study qualitatively examines the knowledge, experiences, and motivations of young egg donors at a Nigerian health facility. Indepth interviews were conducted in Igbo and English with consenting thirty-one egg donors attending a fertility clinic in Anambra State, south-eastern Nigeria. Data were collected and analysed to generate themes with the aid of NVivo 10 software. Three themes were identified from the participants' motivations and include (a) monetary (93.6%), (b) altruistic (3.2%), and (c) both monetary and altruistic reasons (3.2%). Findings highlighted that the differences were based on a variety of reasons in Nigeria. All the participants were literate and single, and the majority received payment. The majority (77.4%) of those who received payment mentioned that the payment was not worth the donation program. The participants preferred to be anonymous because they had not discussed their donation with their family members, and the non-acceptance of egg donation program by the Nigerian society. Given that the market for egg donation has become a common method of infertility management in Nigeria, our findings have important implications for practices, policy actions, and future research. (Afr J Reprod Health 2022; 26[6]:64-79).
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Zygote , Young Adult , Demography , Infertility, Female , MotivationABSTRACT
Various studies have reported the effect of different phases of normal menstrual cycle on the autonomic control over the cardiac activity using heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. However, information on cardiac autonomic activity in young females suffering from primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is scant. Hence, the aim of the present study was to assess the HRV and blood pressure (BP) in different phases of menstrual cycle in women with PD and to compare these findings with eumenorrheic females. Sixty healthy unmarried female subjects (30 females with PD and 30 control subjects), in the age group of 18-25 years, having regular 28-32 days menstrual cycle were recruited for the study. Anthropometric measurements such as height, weight, BMI and WHR were measured. Blood pressure was measured with automatic blood pressure monitor and lead II ECG recordings were done to obtain HRV, during menstrual, follicular and luteal phases of menstrual cycle in both groups. The data recorded were subjected to time and frequency domain analysis. The results showed that dysmenorrheic women had significantly high BMI (P<0.05). Analysis of HRV during the different phases of the menstrual cycle between two groups revealed significantly increased (P<0.01) mean HR and significantly reduced (P<0.01) mean RR and RMSSD in all the 3 examined phases, SDNN significantly less (P<0.05) and systolic BP significantly higher (P<0.001) during the luteal phase in study group compared to control. Also, we observed a statistically significant decrease in TP and LF ms2 (P<0.05), HF ms2 & nu (P<0.01) in menstrual phase, HF ms2 (P<0.05) and HF nu (P<0.01) in luteal phase, while LF nu and LF-HF ratio were found to be significantly higher (P<0.01) in menstrual and luteal phases in women with PD compared to control group. This study has shown decreased HRV in the form of increased sympathetic tone and decreased parasympathetic activity in dysmenorrheic women which may be considered an important cardiovascular risk factor.