Pattern of β-Thalassemia and Other Haemoglobinopathies: A Cross-Sectional Study in Bangladesh

Thalassemia and other structural haemoglobinopathies are the major erythrocyte formation disorder prevalent in certain parts of the world including Bangladesh. We investigated 600 cases of anaemic patients referred from various parts of the country for diagnosis and counselling during 3 months (April to June 2011) of time. The most common form of haemoglobin (Hb) formation disorder observed in 600 subjects studied was β-thalassemia minor (21.3%). Two other conditions, such as E-β-Thalassemia and HbE trait, were also fairly common (13.5 and 12.1%, resp.) in the total subjects studied. Other forms of haemoglobin formation disorders observed were HbE disease (9.2%), Hb D/S trait (0.7%), β-thalassemia major (0.5%), and δ-β-thalassemia (0.5%). The majority of the haemoglobinopathies belonged to neonatal to childhood period (0-15 years), followed by reproductive age group (16-45 years). Few old-age (46+ years) cases were also detected in course of clinical complications.