Frequency of haemoglobinopathies at premarital health screening in Dohuk, Iraq: implications for a regional prevention programme

Beta-thalassaemia major and sickle-cell disease are important health problems in Iraq. To provide information for a prevention programme, the frequency of haemoglobin disorders was mapped in Dohuk governorate. A total of 591 couples [1182 individuals] attending health centres for premarital health screening were tested; 44 [3.7%] were found to be carriers of beta-thalassaemia, 14 [1.2%] of the sickle-cell gene and 1 [0.1%] of delta beta-thalassaemia. A total of 3 couples [i.e. 5/1000] were at risk of having a child with beta-thalassaemia major, and the estimated number of affected children with a major haemoglobinopathy was 39 per year. The findings stress the importance of a regional prevention programme for haemoglobinopathies based on premarital screening, counselling and prenatal diagnosis

Red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase phenotypes in Iraq

We attempted to characterize biochemically glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [G6PD] variants in Iraqi individuals. Thus 758 healthy Iraqi males aged 18-60 years were randomly selected and 46 [6.1%] were G6PD deficient. Although the predominant non-deficient G6PD phenotype was G6PD B [92.6%], G6PD A+ was found in polymorphic frequency [1.3%]. In the deficient group, 31 cases were fully characterized, including 17 cases with features consistent with G6PD Mediterranean variant, while 12 had other biochemical features and were labelled as non-Mediterranean variant. The remaining two deficient cases were characterized as G6PD A- variant. The presence of a significant number of non-Mediterranean variant was unexpected and may be related to the more heterogeneous background of the Iraqi people