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Thalassemia and hemoglobinopathies in an ethnic minority group in Central Vietnam: implications to health burden and relationship between two ethnic minority groups

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Abstract

Thalassemia is a genetic condition that can result in long and expensive treatments, and severe thalassemia may lead to death if left untreated. Couples contributing two genes for thalassemia place their children at particular risk for severe thalassemia. Gene frequency of thalassemia varies in Vietnam, but presents remarkably high levels among some ethnic minority groups. Limited information about thalassemia frequency makes prevention and control of thalassemia difficult. This study aimed to determine gene frequency of certain types of thalassemia among 390 women of reproductive age of the Ta-Oi ethnic minority. Hemoglobin and DNA analyses were carried out to diagnose thalassemia and hemoglobinopathies. Of the total participants, 56.1% (95% CI = 51.1–61.1) carried thalassemia genes. A remarkably high frequency of hemoglobin Constant Spring (Hb CS) of 23.8% (95% CI = 19.7–28.4) was noted. The frequency of α+-thalassemia (−3.7 kb deletion) was 26.4% (95% CI = 22.1–31.1), while hemoglobin E (Hb E) and hemoglobin Paksé (Hb Ps) were identified at frequencies of 14.6 (95% CI = 11.2–18.5) and 2.6% (95% CI = 1.4–5.0), respectively. Further analysis of α-globin gene haplotype revealed the same Hb CS haplotype (+ − M + + −) as of the Co-Tu minority, a neighboring minority of the Ta-Oi, indicating that these two minorities may share the same ancestors. This information will be helpful for further studies in population genetics, as well as the development prevention and control program in the region.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Science Program, Graduate School, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand

    Nga Thi Nguyen

  2. Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hue city, Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam

    Nga Thi Nguyen & Hoa Van Nguyen

  3. Centre for Research and Development of Medical Diagnostic Laboratories, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand

    Kanokwan Sanchaisuriya, Goonnapa Fucharoen & Supan Fucharoen

  4. Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand

    Pattara Sanchaisuriya

  5. Hematology Service, Hue Central Hospital, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam

    Hoa Thi Thuy Phan

Authors
  1. Nga Thi Nguyen
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  2. Kanokwan Sanchaisuriya
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  3. Pattara Sanchaisuriya
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  4. Hoa Van Nguyen
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  5. Hoa Thi Thuy Phan
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  6. Goonnapa Fucharoen
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  7. Supan Fucharoen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kanokwan Sanchaisuriya.

Ethics declarations

We are truly grateful for a research grant from to the National Research University Program of Khon Kaen University and the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Ministry of Education, Thailand. NTN is supported by the Centre for Research and Development of Medical Diagnostic Laboratories, Khon Kaen University. We thank Mr. Wittaya Jomoui for helping in haplotype analysis. We also thank Mr. Ian Thomas for correcting the English.

Compliance with ethical standards

The study followed standard guidelines for human research ethics and has been approved by the Institution Review Boards of both Vietnam and Thailand. Written informed consent was received from all participants.

Funding

This research work was funded by the National Research University program of Khon Kaen University and the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Ministry of Education, Thailand (Grant No. NRU582026).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Nguyen, N.T., Sanchaisuriya, K., Sanchaisuriya, P. et al. Thalassemia and hemoglobinopathies in an ethnic minority group in Central Vietnam: implications to health burden and relationship between two ethnic minority groups. J Community Genet 8, 221–228 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-017-0306-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-017-0306-8

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