Thalassaemia, abnormal haemoglobins and iron deficiency in a British Asian population

Summary We have studied the prevalence of β-haemoglobinopathies, α-thalassaemia and iron deficiency in 1256 subjects of mixed British Asian origin (Pakistani, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati and other) in East London. We found that 16.3% of males, 32.6% of non-pregnant females and 24% of pregnant females (27.5% overall) had an MCH of < 27 pg and therefore required further investigation to exclude β-thalassaemia. Overall, 4.5% of subjects carried a β-haemoglobinopathy gene and gene frequencies were: β-thalassaemia, 0.014; Hb D, 0.004; Hb E, 0.003; Hb S, 0.001. Alpha thalassaemia trait was found in at least 5.3% of subjects, and although the exact prevalence could not be determined, evidence was obtained using an α-globin gene probe that only half the cases were due to deletional α-thalassaemia-2, the rest being presumptive non-deletional forms. The overall prevalence of iron deficiency of all grades, as assessed by blood counts and plasma ferritin, was 41.9%, and was highest in pregnant women.