Erythrocyte Reference Values in Emirati People with and without α+ Thalassemia
Author Information
Author(s): Denic Srdjan, Souid Abdul-Kader, Nagelkerke Nicolaas, Showqi Saad, Balhaj Ghazala
Primary Institution: UAE University, Al Ain, UAE
Hypothesis
Separate reference values for normal and α+ thalassemia homozygotes are needed in populations with high frequency of α+ thalassemia.
Conclusion
Two sets of erythrocyte reference values can be determined for populations with frequent α+ thalassemia mutations without the need for genotyping.
Supporting Evidence
- The erythrocyte indices were significantly different between normal homozygotes and α+ thalassemia homozygotes.
- The overall prevalence of phenotype-derived α+ thalassemia homozygotes was 0.20.
- The frequency of phenotype-derived α+ thalassemia allele was 0.44.
Takeaway
This study found that Emirati people need different blood reference values based on whether they have a common blood condition called α+ thalassemia.
Methodology
The study analyzed erythroid lineage in 1,079 UAE citizens, excluding those with abnormal hemoglobin or iron deficiency, and used statistical mixture analysis to separate subpopulations.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the exclusion of subjects based on RDW to identify iron deficiency.
Limitations
The study may have introduced errors in estimating the prevalence of α+ thalassemia homozygotes due to the method used to identify iron deficiency.
Participant Demographics
1,079 native UAE citizens, ethnically Arab, with 538 females and 539 males.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p < 0.0001
Statistical Significance
p < 0.0001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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