Sickle Cell Anemia and β-Globin Gene Cluster Haplotypes in Colombia

Abstract

We studied 46 unrelated sickle cell anemia patients from the western region of Colombia which has the largest Black population of the country. Twenty-three children and 23 adults were studied. The distribution of haplotypes in the children was 58% Bantu, 38% Benin, and 4% Senegal, and in the adults it was 59.4% Bantu, 35.1% Benin, and 5.5% Senegal (p = 0.920). All 92 chromosomes had typical African haplotypes, Bantu 55.5%, Benin 34.8%, Senegal, 4.3%, and Cameroon, 5.4%. Our results suggest a lack of differential survival among patients with sickle cell anemia and typical β-globin gene cluster haplotypes. They also agree closely with historical data that indicate that most African slaves brought to Colombia originated from Angola (Bantu population) and the Sao Thomó Island in the Bight of Benin (Central West Africa).