Prevalence of Hemoglobinopathies (β-Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Trait) in the Adult Population of Al Majma’ah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Despite the high prevalence of hemoglobinopathies in Saudi Arabia, the prevalence data in some regions are lacking. Updating the epidemiological survey of hemoglobinopathies at regular intervals is necessary to develop effective prevention and control strategies. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of selected hemoglobinopathies in Saudi adults attending premarital screening at the King Khaled General Hospital (KKGH), Al Majma’ah, Saudi Arabia. The current retrospective study was approved by the Central Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Ministry of Health (with central IRB log #2019-0039E) and was carried out at the above hospital. The data of the premarital couples, who attended the premarital screening center at KKGH from 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2019, was included in this study. A cation exchange high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system was used for screening of the selected hemoglobinopathies. In total, 3755 cases including 1953 (52.01%) males and 1802 (47.99%) females, were screened for hemoglobinopathies. Abnormal hemoglobin (Hb) fractions were observed in 38 (1.01%) cases. The prevalence of β-thalassemia (β-thal) trait was 0.69% (26/3755) and that of sickle cell trait 0.32% (12/3755). Our results showed that the prevalence of β-thal trait is higher than that of sickle cell trait in the adult population of Al Majma’ah. Further comprehensive programs should be carried out to determine the prevalence of hemoglobinopathies in various provinces and cities of Saudi Arabia and other countries. This will help to maintain the updated records of the disease incidence for improving the control measures.

Keywords:

• β-Thalassemia (β-thal)
• hemoglobin (Hb) disorders
• hemoglobinopathies
• sickle cell trait

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to the staff of the premarital screening center at KKGH, Al Majma’ah for providing the clinical data for analysis and publication. We also thank the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), Majmaah University, Al Majma’ah, Saudi Arabia for their financial support.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the DSR at Majmaah University, Al Majma’ah, Saudi Arabia [Grant #RGP-2019-30].