Nutritional Vs hereditary anaemias: appropriate screening procedures for Bahrain

ABSTRACT

Blood samples from 109 Bahraini schoolgirls and 92 boys and girls from the Salman Centre of the General Organisation for Youth and Sport were examined to differentiate between dietary anaemias and hereditary haemoglobinopathies. Previous studies of the nutritional status of Bahrainis have concluded that iron deficiency was the prevalent cause of the observed anaemias. Haemoglobins, blood cell indices, serum iron and total iron binding capacity [TIBC] were analysed in the pathology laboratory at the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital. Iron deficiency and microcytic hypochromic anaemia account for approximately 50% respectively of the 27.5% of low haemoglobin values among the schoolgirls. Indices of serum iron revealed that many children are iron deficient without frank anaemia in Bahrain, it is necessary to perform blood smears routinely along with multiple indices of iron status, preferably serum ferritin and haemoglobin electrophoresis when applicable